AMD approves $8 billion stock repurchase program

What you need to know

• AMD just announced an $8 billion share repurchase program.
• The new program is in addition to a previously announced $4 billion plan that was announced in May 2021.
• The goal of the repurchase program is to offset the dilution of stocks and to reduce the amount of AMD shares.

AMD's board of directors just approved a new $8 billion share repurchase program. The new program is in addition to a similar $4 billion plan announced in May 2021. AMD should be able to offset stock dilution and reduce its overall share count with the move. It also provides an opportunity for shareholders to get a return on investment.

When AMD completed its acquisition of Xilinx, it drove the company's market cap past that of Intel. That was in large part due to the conversion of 248.38 million Xilinx shares into 428 million AMD shares. As a result of that process, there are now 1.628 billion AMD shares. The tech giant's new share repurchase program should reduce that number over time.

"We are pleased to expand our share repurchase program based on the strength of our balance sheet and expectations for future free cash flow generation," said AMD Chair and CEO Dr. Lisa Su. "With our strong financial performance, we are able to increase investments to drive long-term growth while returning additional value to our shareholders."

AMD notes in its announcement post that the program doesn't have a termination date and that it could be suspended or stopped at any time. AMD purchased approximately $3 billion worth of shares through the $4 billion program announced in May 2021.