General Electric, Amazon and the new wave of stock buybacks

Last week, two companies that have very different histories when it comes to stock buybacks announced big buyback plans.
$Amazon (AMZN.US)$ ,which had not repurchased shares since 2012, said it would repurchase $10 billion worth of shares,while
$GE Aerospace (GE.US)$ , which had wasted billions buying back stock before CEO Larry Culp took control of the fallen industrial titan, announced plans to buy back $3 billion worth of stock.
While Amazon and GE grabbed the headlines, they weren't the only ones buying back stock.
Of the two takeover surprises of the week, GE's might be the most shocking. Yes,Amazon hasn't repurchased shares in years, but with new CEO Andy Jassy replacing JeffBezos, a change in capital allocation strategy was always a possibility. And while MKManalyst Rohit Kulkarni doesn't expect Amazon to cut its stock count, it is expected to reduce the amount it dilutes for shareholders with stock compensation.
GE has sold parts and plans to split as it tries to recover from the Jeff Immelt-eradisaster. He also has $25 billion in net debt that he needs to reduce.Culp, however,seems to have a plan, and buybacks could be another way he signals his confidence toinvestors. "The buyout move is arguably intended to reflect confidence in the company'sfinancial targets” - $7 billion in free cash flow in 2023 - "based on which its valuation appears low," the analyst writes. by Barclays Julian Mitchell.
Let's just hope the strategy works better this time.