Companies pay dividends to their shareholders.

Companies that have some money lying around might normally try to invest it in opening new stores, or developing new products/services, or advertising, or hiring more staff, or upgrading their building, etc etc. This would be 'investment'.

However, sometimes companies can't find a good investment. They judge that there isn't enough demand for a new store, or that they are investing enough into produt developement, or that more advertising wouldn't help because they've already reached their target audience.

They could instead "Invest in themselves" so-to-speak by buying their own shares back. This effective destroys those shares since they issued them, so getting them back basically makes them cease to exist. This has a few effects:

• They are aiming to profitit the shareholders buy directly paying out the ones they buy these shares from.
• The spike in demand from them buying back the shares, and the reduced supply of shares, concentrates them in the hands of those who kept hold of them, so that also tries to help the profit of shareholders.
• They could pay out less in dividends (i said they shares are essentially destroyed, but if you still imagine them holding onto their own shares, then they are just paying the dividends to themselves, i.e. not having to pay them for those shares), which is like saving money, i.e. the 'investment' into themselves pays off.

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It can sometimes be seen as a poor business move. Shareholders might like share buybacks since it is kinda diretly trying to give them value, but something they believe the business should expand, rather than consolidate like that.

It can be seen as greedy, because the money could instead go to employees or reducing prices, rather than aiming to help the shareholders.

It can be seen as corrupt, as the executives and board members that might have a say in this decision, might own some of the shares, and so might directly profit in some scenarios. e.g. they have an opportnity to buy up shares before the company does a buy-back, hence preempting the spike in demand and maybe getting an unfair gain.