Smooth ride or highway to hell for Harley-Davidson?

When a company announces a big buyback (percentage-wise, I don’t care about big headline numbers), I usually start to get interested, provided the case is overall solid. Harley-Davidson on the surface checks several boxes like a famous brand, a loyal customer base, a rock-solid balance sheet, relatively stable earnings and cash flow generation paired with a low valuation – and on top now also a new aggressive buyback program of the equivalent of no less than 20% of stock outstanding. Is this now an incredible contrarian opportunity?

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