News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on CEO pay and stock buybacks have soared at the largest low-wage corporations. Parent comment

Re:CEO pay and stock buybacks have soared at the largest low... by koolba on Thursday August 21, 2025 @07:42PM (#44979544)
> What’s the motivation of the CEO to increase employee wages if his compensation isn’t tied to theirs?

Wages are a cost. Profits are revenue minus costs. Share price is driven by profits. The job of a CEO is to maximize share price.

The only reason to raise wages is if you think it will lead to a net gain of profit during your tenure. Say do to efficiency or simply retaining better talent. There’s no gain for simply raising employee wages. Quite the opposite.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:CEO pay and stock buybacks have soared at the largest low... by tw04 on Thursday August 21, 2025 @09:40PM (#44980213)
>The job of a CEO is to maximize share price.

It absolultely is not. That was an idea floated by Milton Friedman, and he was wrong with his ridicluous assertion. His justification wasn't even legally sound...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2013/06/26/the-ori...

A CEOs job is to grow market share, increase the value of the company, and tend to its long-term health. All of which directly conflicts with "maximizing the share price" as we've seen time and time again with the corporate raider class.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:CEO pay and stock buybacks have soared at the largest low... by hollerith on Thursday August 21, 2025 @09:41PM (#44980222)
What is the difference in your mind between maximizing share price and "increase the value of the company"?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:CEO pay and stock buybacks have soared at the largest low... by slashdave on Friday August 22, 2025 @01:09AM (#44981186)
Why do you equate the intrinsic value of a company directly to its share price?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:CEO pay and stock buybacks have soared at the largest low... by whatevaa on Friday August 22, 2025 @01:19AM (#44981248)
For shareholders that's that it is.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:CEO pay and stock buybacks have soared at the largest low... by hollerith on Friday August 22, 2025 @08:45AM (#44983917)
The beauty of share price and market cap (share price times total number of shares) is how easy it is to determine. How is this "intrinsic value" determined?
[ Parent | on HN ]