Automotive products retailer AutoZone Inc. said recently its board of directors approved a $500 million stock buyback program. The company had about 63.3 million shares of common stock outstanding as of June 6. AutoZone operates about 4,092 AutoZone stores in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in the U.S. and 148 stores in Mexico. The stock trades for 7x cash flow.

Lockheed Martin Corp. recently said it has increased its buyback authorization by 30 million shares. Under a buyback program started in 2002, the company has bought 113.9 million shares out of 128 million authorized under the program, including 18.6 million shares bought in the first half of this year. The Bethesda, Md.-based company has 396 million shares outstanding. The stock trades for 8x cash flow.

Network equipment maker 3Com Corp. said Wednesday its board has approved a stock buyback plan of up to $100 million. The plan is effective for one year. As of Sept. 22, the company had about 405.9 million shares outstanding. The stock trades for 11x cash flow.

The San Francisco-based bank said recently that the board authorized the expansion of its buyback program to meet the requirements of its employees' benefit plan. In November, the board approved a 75 million share buyback plan, of which 24.4 million shares remained available for repurchase as of June 30.

The world's largest fertilizer producer announced that it will double its repurchase amount to about 10% of its outstanding common stock. The company has already completed the buyback of 15.82 million shares, or 5% of its stock, the limit allowed under its current normal course issuer bid. However, the company will ask the Toronto Stock Exchange to allow it to repurchase an additional 15.68 million shares, worth $2.36 billion. The buybacks have an expiration date of January 30, 2009. “We currently have an opportunity to use our strong cash flow to re- invest in the world's best potash assets - our own company - at an attractive price," said Bill Doyle, PotashCorp President and CEO. "We believe our shares are significantly undervalued versus our long-term potential.” Potash reported very impressive second-quarter earnings on July 24, 2008. As increased world grain prices boosted demand for fertilizer, Potash’s profit tripled to record levels. The Canadian company earned $905.1 million, or $2.82 a share, up 217% from $285.7 million, or 88 cents a share, in the year ago period. Potash said its full year outlook is robust seeing as demand for its fertilizer is still as strong as it was in July. In July, the company said it expects full-year earnings of $12 to $13, up from the April estimate of $9.50 to $10.50 It’s also good to see that Soleil Securities Group recently upgraded Potash from hold to buy based on attractive valuation. The shares have dropped 33% from their all-time high of $242 in the past 9 weeks, and Mark Gulley from Soleil thinks investors should take advantage of the buying opportunity. He commented, “Grain and fertilizer demand growth is doubling from 2% to 4%, driven by: growing middle classes in developing countries that desire more grain-intensive meat and dairy in their diets, and the dire need for higher crop yield to meet the challenges of decreasing arable land, high crop prices, and low grain inventories.”

The leading producer of glass containers announced that it will buyback up to $350 million in common stock. The repurchases will take place from time to time pending on market conditions and will expire December 31, 2010. "We believe that the Company has substantial prospects for continued earnings growth and the current share price does not reflect the long term value of the firm," said Al Stroucken, Chairman and CEO. "As we evaluate investment alternatives, the repurchase of our stock represents another attractive opportunity to deliver value for our shareholders." Higher prices and lower interest expenses helped fuel stellar second-quarter results for O-I. The Perrysburg, Ohio-based company experienced net income of $231.3 million, or $1.35 a share, up from $149.7 million, or 89 cents a share in the same period last year. Total sales jumped from $2 billion to $2.2 billion this quarter. Although the company admitted to selling fewer bottles, the surge in profit came from the sale of higher end bottles and the weakness of the U.S. dollar against currencies where O-I has operations. Another bullish note is that analysts from Wachovia Equity Research have an outperform rating on the stock. The analysts mentioned “Additionally, while the company has lacked discipline in the past as it relates to free cash flow allocation, we note that a new management team, on top of recent portfolio re-jiggering has positioned the company on a solid footing over the next few years.” They believe the stock should be trading in the $48 to $52 range.

The offshore driller with headquarters in Dallas, Texas, announced that it will add $500 million to its repurchase plan. The new buyback amount was approved just as Ensco nearly completed its previous $1 billion-dollar buyback plan, by which the company repurchased 16.5 million shares worth $937.6 billion. The new buybacks will be financed with available cash. On July 24, 2008 the company reported record second-quarter results with net income swelling 17% to $2.96.7 million, or $2.07 a share, from $254.4 million, or $1.72 in the same period last year. Total revenue was $637.1 million, up from $548.6 in the year-ago period. Dan Rabun, Chairman, President and CEO, commented on the Company's results, "Increases in average day rates in all regions and asset classes contributed to the sequential improvement in our second quarter results, and to another record quarter.” While most U.S. companies continue their downward fall, Ensco and their fleet of 53 rigs, has performed quite well in the face of turbulent markets. Ensco is up 10% on the year, compared to the DOW which is down nearly 21% on the year. We like to see that Jefferies & Company has a buy rating and 85-dollar price target on the stock. Analyst Judson E. Bailey added, “Despite the pullback in commodity prices and ESV shares, we believe ESV remains well-positioned for growth through its deepwater growth initiatives, a more robust international jack-up market than expected and near term benefits from GOM market strength.”

The world's leading software maker said it plans to repurchase as much $40 billion in stock- the largest buyback plan ever. The buyback would reduce its outstanding shares by about 17% and add 21 cents to fiscal 2010 earnings. The company plans to complete the buybacks by September 30, 2013. On top of the buyback, the Redmond, WA-based company said it will raiseits dividend 18% to 13 cents a share each quarter. In the past 5 years, Microsoft has retuned more than $115 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. The company also added a $2 billion commercial paper program and saidthat it may sell $6 billion in debt. In response, Standard & Poor's awarded MSFT with its highest possible credit rating, the AAA rank. This marks the first time in 10 years that S&P has given the AAA rating to any company. “The company’s strong credit quality coupled with investors’ current appetite for high quality paper provides a unique opportunity for the company to establish its first-ever commercial paper program and enhance its capital structure,” said George Zinn, treasurer of Microsoft. On July 17, Microsoft announced fourth-quarter operating income and diluted earnings per share of $5.68 billion and 46 cents a share, representing growth of 42% and 48% respectively. Revenue for the fourth quarter was $15.84 billion and $60.42 billion for the year, both increased 18%. Deutsche Bank analysts commented, “We believe Microsoft's board authorization of $40 billion in share buybacks and 18% increase in dividends signals management's greater confidence in the long term potential of the company.” They have a buy rating and $34-dollar price target on the stock.