Subject to declaration by the Board of Directors, the Company plans to initiate a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share sometime in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2012, which begins on July 1, 2012.
Additionally, the Company’s Board of Directors has authorized a $10 billion share repurchase program commencing in the Company’s fiscal 2013, which begins on September 30, 2012. The repurchase program is expected to be executed over three years, with the primary objective of neutralizing the impact of dilution from future employee equity grants and employee stock purchase programs.
Apple announces dividend, share repurchase
Sounds all good to me… Ah, I don’t suppose anyone has a few spare Apple shares lying around to lend me.
Good for them, but this isn’t that consequential given the fact that they have $100 billion sitting around. I’ve gone into a little more detail here:
http://www.wingsofreason.com/2012/03/19/apple-announces-absolutely-nothing/
Easy for me to comment as someone that doesn’t own any stock, but this feels like a move to do “nothing” but “maximize shareholder value.” Feels antithetical to Apple, at the risk of romanticizing it.
Sad.
I wanted Apple to do something new and different with its xash hoard.
Apple is a publicly held company and the shareholders are the owners. It’s their cash. The anti-ethical thing is for Apple to sit on it and make 1% interest when the owners could be getting better returns on it.
They’re still making cash faster than they’re giving it back to the shareholders. I’d not be shocked if they still have $100 billion in the bank this time next year. The only thing that is different is their shareholders will have some of the cash too.
Shareholders have had nothing to complain about regarding Apple’s stock performance in recent years. Anyone griping about the lack of a dividend doesn’t understand what dividends are for.
Hint: Companies that aren’t doing so well or need to raise capital for some reason look for incentives to get people interested in buying their stock. Offering a dividend is one such incentive.
Apple had no need to “maximize shareholder value” in this way. Apple likely did this because it was advantageous for them to do this, probably as a result of some sort of change in the tax laws.
The cash is just sitting there not generating returns. Cash that isn’t generating returns is useless. And lost in all this is the fact that even after the dividends Apple will still have more cash on hand than basically any other company. They’re only distributing a small part of it.
A lot of people keep saying that but don’t offer any ideas.
Acquire Yahoo and “turn it around”? Invest $50B in R&D to solve cold fusion? Actions like that would drag the company down.
Apple has $100B and they’ll add another $50B this year. They can’t spend it in any reasonable way.
I’m an AAPL shareholder. It’s my cash. They’re giving some of it back to me. It’s what they’re *supposed* to do.
Cash that is “just sitting there” allows Apple to say “no” to a lot of things other companies can’t, including the need to lay off workers during a recession.
I’m a shareholder. The idea that shareholders know better what to do with Apple’s cash than Apple does strikes me as kind of hilarious.
Admit it. You simply agree with analysts who can’t understand any company that plans ahead and conducts itself cautiously, and publicly covets a hoard they didn’t earn.
You’re in luck. This time next year Apple will still have an obscene chunk of cash in the bank (far more than any other company), plus you’ll be getting dividends (and so will, since I too am an owner). Its win-win, really. And for the record, you’re the one who thinks he knows better what to do with Apple’s money than Tim Cook and Peter Oppenheimer.
I’m not the one who’s criticizing their inaction with the cash before today. And I don’t believe they made today’s decision for the reasons you’re citing. They simply had no need to.