The goal of a firm is to maximize shareholder wealth. The author of the Bloomberg article suggests activities that are a better use of funds than stock repurchases. While activities such as sniffing out hoaxes and better protecting user data are noble ideas, will those maximize shareholder wealth more than stock repurchases? Perhaps repurchases are shortsighted. Perhaps Facebook has a roadmap already in place to clear up the issues noted in the article, and accelerating that roadmap may not have the ROI (or ROE) for shareholders.

Facebook is down about 35% since July 25th though…

Facebook Has Better Uses for Its Cash Than Stock Buybacks
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-12-11/facebook-has-better-uses-for-its-cash-than-stock-buybacks