In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook has disclosed that Apple has re-purchased $14 billion worth of the companies own shares over the past two weeks. Following Apple’s record-breaking Q1 earnings results, the company’s stock fell approximately 8%, and Cook says he was “surprised about this.”
“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.”
Cook told the WSJ that Apple would discuss updates to its controversial buy-back program in the March/April timeframe. Responding to why Apple keeps such a tight grip on so much cash, Cook responded:
“You want to be able to adjust for the long-term interest of the shareholders, not for the short-term shareholder, not for the day trader,” Mr. Cook said. “We may see a huge company tomorrow that we want to acquire or something may happen in the stock market that’s unpredictable.”
Cook also explained Apple’s philosophy in regards to acquisitions:
“We’ve looked at big companies. We don’t have a predisposition not to buy big companies. The money is also not burning a hole in our pocket where we say, ‘let’s make a list of 10 and pick the best one,'” said Mr. Cook. “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.”
Over the past couple of years, Apple has made several strategic acquisitions, but none of the purchased companies were paid for in the billions of dollars range.
Cook also reiterated his statement that the company is working on new product categories:
“There will be new categories. We’re not ready to talk about it, but we’re working on some really great stuff,” Mr. Cook said. When asked whether a new product category could mean an improvement on an existing product like an iPad Air, a lighter version of its tablet computer, or new services such as mobile payments, Mr. Cook declined to comment.
He said that anyone “reasonable” would consider what Apple is working on as new categories.
The iWatch now appears a near-certainty, with a television also likely to follow.
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There is no question Cook has had his missteps, but he has a very long history with the company. I agree it looks like some have been shown the door which was a bad idea and some left. Jobs had a Vision that Cook should know, but you also have to realize he has develop more that just wannabe Jobs. I think he has to show breakout innovation and product success. Jobs didn’t always have winners either.
Oh, well, I guess there are no large acquisitions coming to help boost the share price. So goes another couple of quarters of a $500 a share stock, if that much. Apple doesn’t seem to have any interest in exciting and luring big investors with big moves. No investors give a damn about Apple’s tiny acquisitions.
nice name.
If you think a company should waste its money buying huge worthless companies (like Google buying Motorla, Microsoft buy that ad agency) and wasting BILLIONS of dollars, then you really don’t know anything about investing. Investing is long term. Speculating and getting a company to ruin itself to make its speculators money and is a pretty stupid thing for a company to do.
Apple will purchase Facebook someday. It may not be next year or the year after that, but it will happen eventually.
“Happen eventually”.. are you referring to the same way Justin Timberlake bought MySpace?
Apply will not buy Facebook. There are too many that do not want to be associated with Apple. How would this move make sense?
“There are too many that do not want to be associated with Apple.”
And FB is certainly NOT one of those. Zuckerberg was pretty close to Jobs.
“How would this move make sense?”
Well, simply if Apple wants to enter the social space like Google. It’s not the way they work now, but having an even better social integration into their software would certainly be a plus for them.
I too thinks it’s unlikely now, but who knows in several years. Apple needs to develop their services like any other company, and social is something they won’t miss.
I guess that Icahn is going to have to spend a lot more money on Apple stock, because he just got his wish. Apple is beating his investment in purchasing their stock by about a factor of 10.
Honestly, I think that this is a brilliant strategy by Tim Cook. Every time that the Wall Street idiots drop Apple’s stock when it should have went up Apple buys back billions of dollars of their own stock. Eventually, either Wall Street will get a clue or Apple will end up being off the exchange.
Actually Apple announced this very effort about 6-12 months ago. It is doing a limited stock buy back for 2 main reasons. It will spend about 60 Billion total.
Part of the reason is tax related. Like most tech companies a lot of their cash is overseas so this is a way to move them back without paying uncle sam.
so was that low guidance for next quarter given so apple could load up on more shares at a discount? is that in the interest of long-term shareholders? how about giving no guidance and let the numbers do the talking? that might be in the interest of long-term shareholders.
Low guidance did cause a drop in share price. But the damage is minimal for long term shareholders. I have held AAPL for a few years, a few weeks of drop means almost nothing in a 10-year horizon.