[DarmokJalad1701]

> For starters, that's 3 months of at least revenues

Why would they need to hold 3 months of revenue? Why not 3 months of operating expenses and suspend capex?

> more R&D, more equipment, more and better-paid staff, improvement programs, to buy promising technologies, invest in other companies, pay down loans on larger, more modern and more-efficient factories ... the list goes on and on

Does that list include stock buybacks?

[jacques_chester]

> Does that list include stock buybacks?

The omission is deliberate.

When money is being returned to shareholders I greatly prefer dividends. It puts pressure on management to manage for sustainable long-term cashflow and removes the temptation to pump up the stock for a quick personal profit. Unfortunately the tax treatment in the US is very unfavourable. By contrast, Australia gives franking credits for dividends and more companies there pay shareholders with dividends instead.

[djannzjkzxn]

It depends on the prospects of the company and how good investment opportunity are. For a company in a fast-growing market it’s probably better to invest and expand the empire. For a more mature company it’s probably better to return the cash to shareholders so they can invest somewhere else.