Hewlett-Packard Authorizes $10 Billion Stock Buyback

Hewlett-Packard’s board of directors has authorized the company to buy back $10 billion worth of the company’s shares, according to a regulatory filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission today.

The new authorization comes on top of another $10 billion authorized last year, of which about $4 billion has been used.

As of April 30, HP had $12.7 billion in cash. The company says it will use the authorization “from time to time” to buy shares back “opportunistically,” or when the share price is low, and to offset dilution created by employee stock plans.

HP shares rose 95 cents, or more than 2.5 percent, closing at $36.23 during the regular session, and rose further in after-hours trading after the filing became public. The shares have fallen by 14 percent since the start of the year.