I&#x27;m not 100% sure this is what the GP was referring to, but a common (and totally legal!) technique to prop up a flat or trending downward company is to start a share buyback program.  You take cash that you have no idea what to do with anyway, and rather than return it to investors through a dividend, you start buying back shares.  That props up your EPS, since there are fewer shares on the market, and you continue to make your numbers.<p>In addition, this helps to keep your share price high&#x2F;growing, which benefits insiders who then sell the stock, knowing that the fundamentals of the business are shaky.<p>The best part is that all of this is done in the open, it&#x27;s just that typical retail investors are not necessarily sophisticated enough to understand what&#x27;s happening, and accept the company&#x27;s argument that they&#x27;re buying back their stock because it&#x27;s &quot;undervalued&quot;