"Lithium Price Collapse Over?" How America’s Project Vault Changed the Fate of Secondary (2nd) Batteries
- What to look for
- Trace the video’s argument from mineral stockpiling and supply-chain security to corporate orders, earnings and share prices.
- Why it matters
- Distinguish contracts, earnings evidence and share-count definitions so that policy funding is not treated as a company’s revenue or cancellation of existing treasury shares double-counted as a new buyback benefit.
Timeline
8 segmentsThe video says cancelling treasury shares immediately lifts BPS because equity stays constant while shares fall. Under IAS 32, treasury shares are already deducted from equity on acquisition; when calculations already exclude treasury shares from outstanding shares, cancelling existing holdings does not generate the same denominator reduction again. Removing resale potential and possible governance improvements may matter, but they are not free earnings or a guarantee of higher share prices.
An independent exercise, not a statement by the video creator or verification of every claim in the video.
Do Not Count Cancellation of Existing Treasury Shares as a Second Buyback Benefit
Assume a hypothetical company has 100 issued shares, 10 treasury shares and equity of KRW 900 after deducting treasury shares. BPS based on 90 outstanding shares is KRW 900 ÷ 90 = KRW 10. Cancelling the existing 10 treasury shares leaves 90 issued shares and 0 treasury shares: outstanding shares remain 90 and equity remains KRW 900, so BPS stays KRW 10. With profit of KRW 90 and the same outstanding shares throughout the year, EPS also remains KRW 1. A new buyback is a separate transaction involving cash outflow and fewer outstanding shares; distinguish it from cancellation’s removal of potential resale.
Check for yourself
- Does the comparison use issued shares or outstanding shares excluding treasury stock?
- Has the repurchase consideration already been deducted from equity?
- Have new buybacks and cancellation of existing holdings been separated, and the reported per-share formulas checked?
Limits of application
This independent hypothetical assumes ordinary shares only, no transaction costs, dividends, new issues, other equity transactions or changes in profit during the period. Actual EPS uses weighted-average outstanding shares, so transaction timing matters. Check company-specific BPS formulas, non-controlling interests and preference shares. The example does not rule out market-perception or governance effects of cancellation.