> I have not seen a single stock buyback work
I haven't seen a single penguin in the wild, but that doesn't mean they don't exist ;)
Berkeshire Hathaway and Teledyne are two companies I know off that have had great success with stock buybacks.
Read this http://observer.com/2003/04/the-brain-behind-teledyne-a-grea... for a fascinating account of Teledyne's story.