Three different questions
Authorization tells you what management may spend. Execution tells you what it actually purchased. Net share-count change also reflects stock compensation, acquisitions, conversions, and other issuance. These quantities answer different investment questions.
A worked reconciliation
Suppose a board authorizes $100 million, buys $30 million of stock at an average $10, and issues 1 million shares to employees. The purchase count is 3 million shares. Ignoring other changes, the net share-count reduction is 2 million, not 3 million. The remaining authorization is not automatically a commitment.
Match the reporting period
Cash-flow tags may represent quarter-to-date, year-to-date, or annual values. Summing overlapping XBRL observations overstates repurchases. Reconcile start dates, end dates, fiscal periods, and amended filings before building a trailing total.
What to watch next
A durable screen should show execution dates and source links, then let you inspect subsequent disclosures. Do not annualize one exceptional session as a contractual future pace.
Sources and further reading
This guide explains a tool and its assumptions. It is not personalized financial, tax, or legal advice.
Put the explanation to work.
Change the assumptions, compare the results, and export the numbers without creating an account.
Open BuybackLedger