Amazon Announces Stock Split and $10B Buyback

(Seattle, WA) -- Amazon's board of directors is approving two measures that are sending its stock price soaring. On Wednesday, the tech giant announced its board approved a 20-for-one stock split. That means an investor would receive 20 shares for every one share currently owned. If the split had taken place at Wednesday's closing bell, the cost of each share would have gone from over $2,700 dollars a share to just over $139 a share, and each existing holder would receive 19 additional shares.

The company also is planning to buy back as much as ten-billion dollars worth of shares. The split is Amazon's first since 199, and will be completed during the first week of June.