> Apple Inc wowed the debt markets on Tuesday with the largest non-bank bond deal in history, offering a whopping $17 billion for sale as the U.S. computer giant switches strategy to placate restless shareholders.
> Sources said investors could barely submit orders fast enough to get in on the deal from Apple, the only major tech company without a single penny of debt on its books.
No debt and they still had to placate shareholders.
These people are pathetic.
[[Via Matt Richman](http://www.mattrichman.net/post/49006589370/stock-analysts-tell-all)]
Horace Dediu takes a look at Apple’s gross margins back to 2005.
> Apple today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a significant increase to the Company’s program to return capital to shareholders. The Company expects to utilize a total of $100 billion of cash under the expanded program by the end of calendar 2015. This represents a $55 billion increase to the program announced last year and translates to an average rate of $30 billion per year from the time of the first dividend payment in August 2012 through December 2015.
> As part of this program, the Board has increased its share repurchase authorization to $60 billion from the $10 billion level announced last year. This is the largest single share repurchase authorization in history and is expected to be executed by the end of calendar 2015. Apple also expects to utilize about $1 billion annually to net-share-settle vesting restricted stock units.
> Additionally, the Board has approved a 15% increase in the Company’s quarterly dividend and today has declared a dividend of $3.05 per common share, payable on May 16, 2013 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 13, 2013. Apple is among the largest dividend payers in the world, with annual payments of about $11 billion.
Apple on Tuesday reported a quarterly profit of $9.5 billion on revenue of $43.6 billion for its fiscal second quarter.
According to Apple, it sold 37.4 million iPhones in the quarter, compared to 35.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold 19.5 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 11.8 million in the year-ago quarter. The company sold just under 4 million Macs, compared to 4 million in the year-ago quarter.