Meta spent $45 billion on stock buybacks last year at $330 a share. The stock is worth $100 today after a post-earnings crash.

• Meta spent $45 billion on stock buybacks last year, paying about $330 a share on common.
• Shares in Mark Zuckerberg’s firm have plunged 70% this year to round $100.
• Meta has spent about $91 billion repurchasing stock since 2017, at a median value of $242 a share.

Meta spent about $45 billion shopping for again 136 million shares last year, paying round $330 a pop. Its stock was hovering round $100, or lower than a third of that worth, in premarket buying and selling on Thursday after a post-earnings crash, suggesting Facebook’s dad or mum firm massively overpaid for its personal shares.

Mark Zuckerberg’s social-media large additionally repurchased one other 100 million shares within the first 9 months of this year at a value of $21 billion, or round $210 a share – greater than double the present stock worth.

Moreover, Meta has spent a complete of $91 billion to repurchase 377 million shares between the beginning of 2017 and September 30 this year, at a weighted common worth of round $242 a share, a Markets Insider evaluation of Securities and Exchange Commission filings exhibits. Those shares would value beneath $38 billion — or practically 60% much less — to purchase today at Meta’s present stock worth.

Shares of the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp proprietor have plunged 70% this year, slashing the corporate’s market capitalization from round $600 billion to under $300 billion. The sell-off has been fueled by mounting doubts about Zuckerberg’s costly guess on the metaverse, issues about an promoting slowdown, and buyers dumping tech shares in favor of safer belongings.

Meta’s stock droop has made its previous repurchases look costly. If the corporate might erase all of its buybacks since 2017 and conduct them at today’s worth as a substitute, they’d theoretically value $53 billion much less — greater than one-sixth of Meta’s present market capitalization.

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However, it is worth emphasizing that even when Meta might begin its buybacks today, it most likely would not save fairly that a lot cash. Its repurchases can be constrained by the money it has obtainable, the buying and selling quantity of its stock, and the way a lot buyback spending has been permitted by its board. Aggressive repurchases would seemingly increase Meta stock as nicely, elevating the corporate’s value per share.

Still, Meta could search to capitalize on its depressed stock worth, and compensate for its arguably overpriced buybacks, by ramping up repurchases now. The firm is already on monitor to rival the 136 million shares it repurchased in 2021.

Moreover, Zuckerberg and his workforce had $42 billion in money and marketable securities at the top of September, plus board approval to spend one other $18 billion on buybacks, which means they’ve the cash and permission wanted to pounce on beaten-down Meta stock.

Here’s a chart exhibiting Meta’s stock buybacks since 2017: