Firms frequently buyback their own shares when they think they are undervalued. Problem is, firms often get it wrong! So far this year HP has spent $7.6 billion to buy 200 million shares at about $38/share. In ’10 HP spent $11.3 billion to buy 250 million shares at about $44/share. HP shares currently trade at $24! That is a loss of over $8 billion. Their new CEO says they will moderate their buybacks! Brilliant.