> It's a mechanism to distribute profits to shareholders

With different consequences and historical outcomes to more commonly used mechanisms.

> Do you invest in companies that don't distribute profits

Does every company that distributes profits do so with buybacks?

> does this get you some kind of higher return?

Do all companies payout the same ratio of market cap as dividend?

You've missed the point of my questions. The GP here thinks they're giving away their monopoly status by doing buybacks.

I think there's zero point to having a monopoly if you don't distribute the profits.

If you have some argument that dividends are better than buybacks I don't care.