Apple Preps Bond Sale for Stock Buyback Initiative

stockbuybackAhead of last week's earnings release, Apple announced that it would more than double its capital return program from $45 billion to $100 billion, with a 15 percent increase in dividend payments and a massive stock buyback initiative.

To facilitate the expanded capital return program, which will amount to a share repurchase of $60 billion, Apple must take on debt, a process that the company initiated today. According to Reuters, Apple has begun investor calls, led by both Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, and it has filed the necessary SEC paperwork for a debt offering.

The only major tech company without a penny of debt on its books, Apple stunned the markets last week by announcing it could sell debt for the first time to help fund a $100 billion capital return program for shareholders.

Any bond offer from the makers of the iconic iPhone and iPad would be highly sought after by investors, and it is believed the company could raise funds at a cheaper rate than even Triple A rated Microsoft.

Apple has a long history with both Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. According to Bloomberg, the former advised Apple on its takeover of Next Computer, while the latter has been advising Apple on a cash plan. It is unknown if one of the two banks will lead the upcoming bond offering.

Though Apple has a cash pile that exceeds $145 billion, only a portion of that is available in the United States, leaving the company unable to fully fund its stock buyback. Borrowing money will allow Apple to avoid the taxes that it would incur moving money from overseas.

Top Rated Comments

jdechko Avatar
130 months ago
Sorry, but the amount of stupidity here is baffling.

1) Smart people borrow money all the time when it suits them financially Borrowing money at 2% and holding investments at 3% is better than cashing in bonds at 3% and having no debt (or borrowing at 2% and having to pay 15% in taxes). Peter Oppenheimer, CFO > Internet Armchair Accountants on MR

2) Apple is buying back stock slowly. They can't afford to completely go private, but you can bet that's where they are headed. As long as they are a public company, they are still dependent on some outside entity (stockholders). And given the current state of affairs, a bank loan is much less volatile than Apple's share price.

3) Tim Cook is the business genius to Steve's marketing/product genius. Tim Cook is the reason why Apple has $145bn in the bank. Cook is the reason why the Steve could announce the iPad at $499 instead of $999. Cook definitely isn't a product guy, no doubt. But he is a master at operations. (This is the reason why Steve Jobs recommended Cook as his successor).

Firing Tim Cook would be a huge disaster for Apple (see #3). It's what a vocal minority of the stockholders are calling for (see #2), which is why it won't happen.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
50548 Avatar
130 months ago
As an Apple shareholder, I am intrigued and I'm not completely convinced by this.

The moment you start taking on debt is the moment you lose your independence.

What makes this move even more moronic is the basic fact that Apple, of all companies, is the ONLY one with zero debt and zero need to borrow money.

Of course, the usual "investors" looking for a cheap buck will praise this move as the main enabler of fat dividends and artificially-higher stock prices.

Remember when SJ used to tell us how Apple had no debts whatsoever? Where is he when we need him?

Tim Cook = Michael Spindler Redux.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chupa Chupa Avatar
130 months ago
As an Apple shareholder, I am intrigued and I'm not completely convinced by this.
Convinced of what? The buyback or the borrowing to pay for it?

At any rate this is a tip of the hat to mutual, hedge, and pension fund managers who want to see some $ if they are to keep positions in AAPL.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
camnchar Avatar
130 months ago
Apple should just create an overseas bank and loan the money to itself.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oneMadRssn Avatar
130 months ago
"..more than double its capital return program from $55 billion to $100 billion.."

Hmmm..?

haha. Math fail.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SmoMo Avatar
130 months ago
"..more than double its capital return program from $55 billion to $100 billion.."

Hmmm..?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Low-Energy Chip to Allow Solid-State Buttons to Work When Device is Off or Out of Battery

Wednesday March 29, 2023 1:54 am PDT by
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will use a new ultra-low energy microprocessor allowing certain features like the new capacitive solid-state buttons to remain functional even when the handset is powered off or the battery has run out, according to a source that shared details on the MacRumors forums. CAD-based render of new solid-state buttons on iPhone 15 Pro models The source of this rumor is ...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2023 Event Taking Place June 5 to 9

Wednesday March 29, 2023 9:58 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 34th annual Worldwide Developers Conference will take place from Monday, June 5 to Friday, June 9. Like WWDC 2020, 2021, and 2022, WWDC 2023 will be an online event for the most part, and it will be open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will provide online sessions and labs, which will allow...
iPhone 15 Pro Multi Purpose button Mute Switch Feature Green 2

iPhone 15 Pro Rumored to Feature Multi-Use Action Button Instead of Mute Switch

Wednesday March 29, 2023 7:28 am PDT by
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models are rumored to feature a customizable Action button like the Apple Watch Ultra, according to a MacRumors forum member who leaked accurate details about the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models last year. The source claimed the Action button will replace the Ring/Silent switch that has been included on every iPhone model since 2007. They did not...
iOS 16

Apple Releases iOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and More

Monday March 27, 2023 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID. iOS 16‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
Apple Music Classical

Apple Explains Why It Launched an iPhone App Dedicated to Classical Music

Monday March 27, 2023 8:54 pm PDT by
Apple today published a support document explaining why it decided to release a standalone Apple Music Classical app for classical music. In short, Apple says the app was designed to support classical music's complex metadata:Classical music is different. It has longer and more detailed titles, multiple artists for each work, and hundreds of recordings of well-known pieces. The Apple Music...
iOS 16

Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5

Tuesday March 28, 2023 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a day after the launch of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4. Registered developers can opt in to the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to Software Update, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option and toggling on the iOS 16 Developer Beta. Note that an...
home upgrade available feature

PSA: Apple Has Made Its New Home Architecture Update Available Again

Tuesday March 28, 2023 1:50 am PDT by
Apple has made the option to upgrade to new Home architecture available again with the release of iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, and macOS Ventura 13.3, after it temporarily pulled the update in December. After updating Apple devices to the latest software, users can once again opt to upgrade any homes set up in the Home app to the new Home architecture, which Apple says brings faster, more reliable ...