[JumpCrisscross]

> Non dividend stocks only have value because other people think they have value (i.e. greater fool theory)

Alphabet buys back shares equal to the GDP of Uganda every year. There are more ways to return capital than through dividends.

[bruce343434]

what happens when ALL the stocks have been bought back? what is the natural conclusion? you get extra points if you mention dilution i.e. oops we turned on the ~~money~~ stock printer and your stock is now actually worth less!

[JumpCrisscross]

> what happens when ALL the stocks have been bought back?

This can't happen in practice. It would require the company's value to fall below the buyback amount, which is itself a fraction of the company's cash and thus value. (Like, yes, I could engineer a weird failing company where this could happen. But that would just be describing a peculiarity of how the company failed. If the company is doing fine, this doesn't occur.)

If you have trouble with a public-market buyback, consider how tenders are done in private markets. You're a shareholder who has the option of selling back your shares. It's a direct way for you to tap the company's treasury as a shareholder. The company's shareholders could vote to distribute all the cash and assets in a buyback. But we have a word for that: liquidation.