Title: Investigating share buyback impact during the COVID-19 pandemic: Indian evidence

Authors: Aafreen Khan; Ashu Khanna; Sanskaar Tijaria

Addresses: Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India; Jindal Global Business School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, 131001, India ' Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India ' Department of Earth Science, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India

Abstract: Selecting a payout option is an important financial decision for any corporation during the COVID-19 pandemic, when economies saw significant downturns. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown significant changes in market behaviour. The Indian market has not been an exception to it. Hence, the objective of the study is to investigate the short-run market performance followed by share buyback announcements and firm-specific elements that influenced it during the crisis period in India. The sample comprises 173 companies that announced repurchases prior to COVID-19 (2018-2020) and during the COVID-19 period (2020-2022). In order to achieve this, the event study methodology based on the market model along with multiple regression for analysis has been carried out. Its findings confirm significant announcement returns during COVID-19 before the repurchase announcement, confirming that the Indian market is semi-strong-form efficient. Further, the cash and firm size showed a negative impact on announcement returns as per the regression analysis, which confirms that the market has an asymmetry of information. The results are similar for tender offer announcements. However, when considering the sort of industry, the undervaluation theory is also supported.

Keywords: share buyback; COVID-19; event study; market performance; information asymmetry; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAF.2025.154805

International Journal of Accounting and Finance, 2025 Vol.12 No.4, pp.257 - 277

Accepted: 03 Dec 2025
Published online: 14 Jul 2026 *

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