Can stock buybacks really push up stock prices? A simple way to look at it is by comparing the growth rate of EPS (earnings per share) with the growth rate of net profit. Take VISA (V)$ and $Tencent Holdings (00700)$ as examples. Visa reduces its share count by about 3% annually through buybacks, which means even if net profit doesn’t grow, EPS can still steadily increase. Meanwhile, Tencent has reduced its share count by about 2% annually over the past two years, but stock-based compensation is still ongoing.