Thread regarding Wells Fargo & Co. layoffs

They could reduce the float by over 700 million shares at today's closing price. Bringing the float under 3 billion and close to 2.9 billion. If they wait till it hits 30 could reduce the float by 1 billion shares bringing us to 2.6 billion.

they are going to move your bonus to 100% RSU vesting over 4 years

Considering the scale and persistence of these buybacks, it's plausible that the board wants to take the company private and delist. Not unreasonable. Why pay dividends to others when you can just pocket all the profits. I think Hudson Yards plan is to go in that direction while also automating , AIing, contracting and outsourcing all the employees. End of the day our overlords just sit around in their ivory tower and collect billions.

It tells me WF has shrunk its float by 31% over a decade and the stock price has appreciated roughly 24% over that same time frame.

How many different things can you read out of that?

Wells Fargo can’t grow its balance sheet, so there is no reason to hold on to retained earnings.

Large banks can’t pay big dividends. The Fed looks poorly on dividends that can’t be sustained in a recession or an earnings slump.

The only way for Wells Fargo to give excess capital back to shareholders is to buy back stock.

It’s like owning a business worth $2 million with $100K cash in the bank. One of 20 shareholders wants to sell. The company uses the $100k to buy it back, and now there are 19 shareholders.

It's simple really. In 2013 we would need to make $5.3 billion in a quarter to earn $1.00 per share. Now we only need $3.6 billion. As earnings dropped buying back shares has kept the per share earnings number up each quarter and thus help prop up the stock. The number of shares really only goes down though if the shares are retired. If shares held for sale is lower too then that is true. You don't quote that number. If WF owns the shares they do not pay dividends on them, but unless they are retired they can.....and will be reissued one day. Where do you think all of the millions of shares we issue to executives come from.

It means the market doesn't care as much as removing the asset cap

I asked that same question the other day. Wells Fargo market cap is $160 Billion, and Charlie announces they want to buy back $30 Billion? The numbers look fishy to me.

I would like to get a research analyst to ask that question at the next earnings call.