Carl Icahn pushes for things that will make him more millions without having to work one tiny bit (except running his mouth). What a shock! 
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Carl Icahn Presses for Apple Shareholder Vote on Increased Stock Buyback
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my god, this guy is worst than aids and cancer combined, he will never stop being a pain in a.s.s to Apple ???
share value
Apple should be a bank. I trust them more than the current banks. They have strong reserves and banking is a perfect digital, global business.
For shareholders, the cash is priced into the stock. In a perfect world, isn't using it to reduce the number of shares outstanding share price neutral? Take the cash out without reducing the shares, e.g., a dividend, reduces the value of the shares by the amount of the dividend. A repurchase does the same.
Apple should be a bank. I trust them more than the current banks. They have strong reserves and banking is a perfect digital, global business.
For shareholders, the cash is priced into the stock. In a perfect world, isn't using it to reduce the number of shares outstanding share price neutral? Take the cash out without reducing the shares, e.g., a dividend, reduces the value of the shares by the amount of the dividend. A repurchase does the same.
If you want Apple to make great products you should care about this. If you want Samsung to make great ripoffs of Apple products (rather than making their own pathetic garbage like that silly watch of theirs) you should care about this. What Carl wants to do is for Apple to borrow a 12 figure sum of money, give him a quick payoff so he can sell in three months, and then limp away $100,000,000,000 in debt to face an eventual collapse. How selfish and short-sighted.
Sorry to break it to you but shareholders "owning" the company is a fiction right up there with the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and Santa Clause (again, sorry for that disclosure). A modern day minority "shareholder" is more just along for the ride in the value of the stock than having any real call on the profits, or right to challenge business decisions made by the BOD or executive team. Shareholders, in general, are not the original investors and aren't seeking a "reward for risk on investment". They are buying for appreciation.
I wonder if they are waiting for a one-time amnesty, something which has been proposed and I assume, lobbied for by many US companies.
Seems a lot of people here arguing that investors deserve some of Apple's money too (which I agree with) should consider what you're posting because I'm betting you're right. He's not just looking for dividends to be paid out. He's looking to game things in his favor, regardless of the outcome for everyone else.
Yes it is. The stock price reflect everything- profit, cash, sales, speculation about future products, speculation about the global economy, speculation about dividend increases and buybacks, etc. With that complex mix of fact and sentiment on a backdrop of broader economic variability there is actually no way to predict whether a buyback will raise the price, lower it, or keep it the same. Teasing out issues like this is the stuff of PhD dissertations. What we do know is that the act of announcing a huge buyback would likely cause a short surge in the share price, just enough for Carl to sell out and take his 'investment' to the next target.
Until >50% of the shareholders agree with something. Then they are no longer along for the ride, and have a real mandate. With any normally held (non-fanboy) company that would be a real danger right now with all that cash and no good way to get rid of it.
The correct way to handle the overseas cash is to invest it in doing more R&D overseas, and indeed Apple is gradually doing that. It would be nice if Apple could bring back that money to do the R&D in the U.S., but paying that huge tax bill just doesn't make sense for shareholders.
What Apple management knows, and you seem to be missing, is that Apple is in a very volatile business. They are always a misstep or two from being back in the red. Remember, in 2007 Motorola, Nokia, and RIM were all doing great. Now they are all going under or sold. Apple management also hasn't forgotten the days of having to grovel before Bill Gates. Apple needs an insurance policy and keeping their cash around $100,000,000,000 is a good one. Their current dividend, buyback, and investment programs are keeping cash pretty stable- time to leave well enough alone.
As another longtime shareholder, I generally agree with you, Ignatius. However. With the "present" costs of repatriation, and the fact that we now seem to be entering a brave new world where having a huge chunk of cash might provide the ability to move rapidly and thus provide a real strategic advantage, I'm more than willing to go along for the ride.
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Well....almost everywhere.
They could do what they've done in the past with dividends and incur debt instead. With tax rates being so high and interest rates being so low, it may make more sense to do it that way.
He really needs a new PR photo; his expression is that of a simpleton, not an intelligent businessperson.
Why are so many people upset with this guy? I know he's done some bad things to some other companies in the past, but so far he hasn't done anything bad for Apple or its shareholders. AAPL is too big for him; he can only make some noises with his 2% ownership which may not necessarily be a bad thing. Ordinary shareholders have no voices at all and I would rather have somebody like him to make some noises to express shareholder's concerns.
Having said that, Apple's problem is not that they don't want to buy back more shares; it's just they don't have the money in US dollars to do more buy backs. Most of the cash are out of the country, and they will face big tax bills if they bring the money back home. So how do they solve the problem? I don't know. But I for one don't want them to issue more debts.
Having said that, Apple's problem is not that they don't want to buy back more shares; it's just they don't have the money in US dollars to do more buy backs. Most of the cash are out of the country, and they will face big tax bills if they bring the money back home. So how do they solve the problem? I don't know. But I for one don't want them to issue more debts.
"Fanboy" is the new "holocaust"--as soon as you use that term, you've just lost the argument.
