Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Carl Icahn Asks for Accelerated Stock Repurchase Program in Letter to Apple's Tim Cook
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Apple is greatly undervalued. I don't know if I'd go with Icahn's $200 a share but $150 is realistic without crossing over into over-valued (like a lot of tech companies). Apple today has a forward P/E of $12. Compare that to Google with a forward P/E of 19, or Microsoft at around 15. Amazon (a would-be competitor to Apple) has a forward P/E of 82! HP is well-established and stodgy; they have a forward P/E of 9.0 (which is about right, historically-speaking) but they're really not a competitor to Apple any more and haven't been since the iPhone came out.
And what happens to Apple when they've bought enough shares back that Carl owns 51% of what's left?
How many large acquisitions have ever worked out well in the long run? Usually they're disasters. Look at AOL/Time Warner as a perfect example.
Speak for yourself
Okay, you are probably right. I should have said that it reduces my desire to hurl. Is that better?
Carl only owns about 0.88% of Apple shares. Apple would have to buy back and retire about 98% of the existing shares before Carl would own 51% of Apple. Something tells me that's not going to happen anytime soon.
I thought it was tradition to use this picture of our good friend Carl
If that won't slide, then I say we go with this one
If that won't slide, then I say we go with this one
All correct. Just Icahn has a different opinion about the stock. He is saying that he thinks the shares are low. He is predicting that the market is going to catch on to this fact eventually. By saying "Apple is quite high at the moment", you are taking opposite view. If you are right, Apple should keep its money and continue to earn 1% on it investing in safe government bonds. If Icahn is right, Apple should buy shares for $101 today because they will be worth $203 in a year or two. We don't know which of you is right. However, we do know that Icahn was right when Apple was trading at 46% less a year ago. All of Apple's buybacks in the last year have been terrifically good trades.
You are operating in the wrong scale. Carl Icahn owns through his fund about 1%. He isn't ever going to get anywhere close to owning 51%. No amount of buybacks will achieve that result and Icahn won't ever have the 100s of billions to invest to buy into a majority position in Apple.
Worked out great for AOL.
But totally agree with you. That was my point. I don't want Apple to do a large acquisition. And there is no other conceivable use for $166 billion plus the other tens or even hundreds of billions coming as we shift from the PC era to the iOS era. (Side note, yes, that is where i think we are headed. Android is not Apple's competitor, Windows is its competitor. And I don't think Windows has a chance.)
apple needs to force this guy out
they need to seize his stake in the company and force him out at the same price he came in. OR he needs to drop dead from old age along with Rupert Murdoch. The man looks like a saddle but those fingernail and hands are sooo pretty and soft. Probably never did an honest days work in his life.
they need to seize his stake in the company and force him out at the same price he came in. OR he needs to drop dead from old age along with Rupert Murdoch. The man looks like a saddle but those fingernail and hands are sooo pretty and soft. Probably never did an honest days work in his life.
Next up 'Apple purchases Icahn Enterprises and dumps it into the North Atlantic".
Carl, you are a parasite.
Carl, you are a parasite.
That's mathematical gibberish. Given x number of shares owned by him, there's a specific number of shares that Apple could buy back and all he would need to do would be to hold on to his and he'd have 51%. No additional investing on his part required. Of course, he can use the dividends to continue buying shares, so the number Apple needs to buy back to give him control would be smaller. In addition, there's no reason he couldn't be working with a partner or partners on this, if control of the company is his ultimate goal. Together they could have more than 1% already.
Thats very likely no different from what the Board at Apple do or any other company. Cant really say if hes a douche or not I dont know enough about him but any time a person or corporation says something questionable about a product they are trying to sell, they also are manipulating the market.
Why does Icahn think they care? They've shown that they don't have any interest in doing what he says each time.
Greed...
