On: Steve Ballmer Interview

[anonymous_user9]

Shareholders do not provide value, workers do. After he retired, Steve Ballmer did not provide $110B of value to Microsoft customers, but he received that wealth anyway.

[missedthecue → anonymous_user9]

There is absolutely value in providing risk capital. That's literally the lifeblood of commercial innovation.

[steve1977 → missedthecue]

But this only happens when stock is initially offered. Not when it’s traded afterwards.

[DoesntMatter22 → steve1977]

That is completely untrue. Companies frequently own their own stock, and issue more when the price is high it continues to be quite valuable to the company

[steve1977 → DoesntMatter22]

They can buy back shares and keep them in treasury, that's correct. But they need cash to buy them back first and it only actually results in a positive flow of money if they are able to sell it at a profit later.

And when they issue more, then this initial offering again (of new stock).

[DoesntMatter22 → steve1977]

We are responding to somebody who said the shareholders do not provide value. Which is just obviously incorrect