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Apple has repurchased $14 billion of its own stock in the two weeks following its first quarter earnings call on January 27th, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal spoke to Apple CEO Tim Cook who said that Apple wanted to be "aggressive" and "opportunistic" with its repurchases after Apple's share price dropped 8 percent the day after the results were reported.
With the latest purchases, Mr. Cook said Apple had bought back more than $40 billion of its shares over the past 12 months, which Mr. Cook said was a record for any company over a similar span.
"It means that we are betting on Apple. It means that we are really confident on what we are doing and what we plan to do," said Mr. Cook, speaking in a conference room at the company's corporate headquarters here. "We're not just saying that. We're showing that with our actions."
He went on to say that the company would share "updates" to its buyback program in March or April, roughly a year after it more than doubled its capital return program to $100 billion. Apple has bought back $40 billion in shares over the past 12 months.
Cook said that though Apple has not made any large acquisitions, it is open to making a big purchase if it made financial sense: "We have no problem spending ten figures for the right company, for the right fit that's in the best interest of Apple in the long-term. None. Zero."
As of its earnings call last month, Apple had $158.8 billion in cash, with $34.4 billion located in the United States. It's likely that the repurchase was done entirely with Apple's domestic cash.
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Top Rated Comments
No a waste of money is spending $3B on a thermostat.
Based on current P/E the market expects Apple to grow slower than Walmart, Target and Macys. Basically they're valuing Apple about the same as Krogers supermarket.
Why would any board actually listen to the completely irrational stock market?
Most messages on here sound as if they're written by kids who just won the lottery... we should buy this! We should buy that! Why? Buying a large competitor hardly ever works. It'll take years before cultures match. If the bought company actually has products out there, people will expect them to become Apple-like products. They won't be. If they strip away all products and only want the IP, people will complain that Apple is just a patent buyer. If they venture out into completely new markets, they'll only run the risk of watering down their brand and turning into a conglomerate - which the stock market doesn't like either.
Look at how well Sony is doing. They did all the things everyone seems to recommend. Venture into new markets - from electronics to computers, to movies, to music - launch new product lines like crazy, jump on many bandwagons and try to launch a new 'standard' every few years or so. They haven't made a profit in 10 years. Is that what you would like Apple to become?
Really, I don't see why Cook would actually pay any attention to what the stock market thinks it wants. As soon as Apple launches another product that people stand in line for, they'll love Apple again. The stock price will soar. Apple will again be on everybody's lips. The whole thing is that fickle. I hope Tim Cook is as stubborn as Steve Jobs was. Keep cool and keep going.
What an incredible waste of money.
What else could be accomplished for $14 billion?
Based on what metric?