Why Did Henry Singleton Buy Back So Much Teledyne Stock?

David Senra, reading the book's account, says Henry Singleton bought back 90% of Teledyne's stock because the shares were simply too cheap and he could earn a better return buying them than by doing almost anything else.

Starting with a 1972 tender and continuing for the next 12 years, Singleton went on an unprecedented share repurchasing spree. Prior to the early 1970s, stock buybacks were uncommon and controversial, and Wall Street regarded them as a sign of weakness. Singleton ignored the orthodoxy. Between 1972 and 1984, in eight separate tender offers, he bought back 90% of Teledyne's outstanding shares. As Munger says, no one had ever bought his shares as aggressively. It is accurate to describe Singleton as the Babe Ruth of repurchases.

Singleton believed buying stock at attractive prices was self-catalyzing, analogous to coiling a spring that would later surge forward and realize full value. He bought his own stock extremely well and generated a 42% compound annual return for Teledyne's shareholders across the tenders.