Shares of PT United Tractors surged 6.2% to IDR 27,500 after the heavy-equipment giant and Astra International subsidiary announced yet another share buyback program worth up to IDR 2 trillion (~$125 million), its third such program this year. The move signals management's conviction that the stock is cheap — but the pattern of repeated buybacks also raises questions about what's really weighing on the shares.
Three Buybacks in Six Months Tells a Story of Persistent Pressure. UNTR first announced an IDR 2 trillion buyback in January 2026 , then halted it early on March 31 and immediately launched a second round running April through June.
Now the company has begun a third round, effective July 1, again capped at IDR 2 trillion running through September 30. Spending this aggressively on your own stock — three times in half a year — suggests the market discount stubbornly refuses to close.
The Cash Is Real, But the Spending Adds Up. United Tractors closed 2025 with IDR 15.2 trillion in net profit, IDR 177.6 trillion in total assets, and IDR 103.1 trillion in equity.
All buyback funding comes from internal cash, not borrowings.
The prior January–March round alone absorbed IDR 1.06 trillion, repurchasing 36.4 million shares.
The April–June program used IDR 860 billion for 35.5 million shares before management stopped early again. Combined, UNTR has already spent roughly IDR 1.9 trillion buying back over 71 million shares — with another IDR 2 trillion now authorized.
Fewer Shares Mean Fatter Earnings Per Share. Management estimated that if the full IDR 2 trillion were deployed in a single round, earnings per share would rise from IDR 4,082 to IDR 4,237 — a 3.8% boost just from shrinking the share count, not from growing profits. The stock still trades at roughly 7.9 times trailing earnings , cheap by most standards, which helps explain why the buyback narrative resonates.
Watch What Happens When the Buying Stops. UNTR halted its second buyback on June 30 with IDR 1.13 trillion unspent , and the stock promptly slid to the IDR 24,000 range — the very prices it's now rebounding from. The pattern is clear: the buyback acts as a price floor, and investors fade the stock once support disappears. With a 6.18% dividend yield sweetening the deal, income-focused holders have reason to stay. But the real test is whether UNTR can sustain momentum without continuously repurchasing its own shares.