No. Share buybacks do not increase, nor are they supposed to increase or decrease, the share price, as many mistakenly believe. The price remains constant during share buybacks. In both cases, the market value decreases because the company pumps out cash. The benefit to the investor (who does not sell) is an increasing ownership stake where the company’s cash is exchanged for a smaller number of shares. If the price were to rise, more wealth would be created in the process. This does not happen. Price drops and rises are due to normal market movements. In the case of dividends, the price drops by the amount of the dividend, and more cash comes into hand, including for the tax authorities. The ownership stake does not increase.
In dividends: price drops, you get cash, the tax authorities get cash, ownership stake does not change
In share buybacks: price remains the same, you don’t get cash, the tax authorities don’t get cash, ownership stake increases
About 95% of investors, including educated “gel-heads” (a colloquial term for financial professionals), misunderstand this. Further discussion can be found here, as this is no longer Sampo-specific: