Might be more tax efficient, but I've seen a lot of companies buy back shares when the shares are high. Aside from high growth companies (which aren't usually buying back shares), that's value-destroying. Buy high, then sell low via options... With that kind of buybacks, I'll take the dividends, thanks.
Hmm, I appreciate your comment because it resulted in me looking into it and learning more. However as a result I've found that such a blanket statement is slightly dangerous - the [1]investopedia article goes into some good scenarios towards the bottom under "Additional Considerations."
