AIG stock is surging in after-hours trading after the company said it would resume paying a dividend and launched a stock buyback.
The insurer announced a 10-cent-per-share dividend and a $1 billion share buyback, a sign that the company has rebounded from the lows of the financial crisis.
"Clearly a dividend is important," CEO Robert Benmosche told CNBC. "It opens up new shareholders for our company."
AIG also reported stronger-than-anticipated earnings for the second quarter, helped by strength in its core insurance business. AIG's net income rose to $2.73 billion, or $1.84 per share, from $2.33 billion, or $1.33 per share, a year earlier.