Carl Icahn Increases Apple Stake to $2.5 Billion, Requests Immediate $150 Billion Stock Buyback

[AngryCorgi]

Let's check the interwebs for Mr. Investor Dbag General's resume...hrmmm...

"In 1988, Icahn took TWA private, gaining a personal profit of $469 million, and leaving TWA with a debt of $540 million."

Uhhh...yeah, you may not want to listen to this douche-canoe.

 

[firedept]

I am not a financier, but it sure sounds like an attempt at a money grab after stock prices push up. I would think Apple smart enough not to fall for his antics.

 

[latndude]

Get lost !!!

Get this guy out of the picture Apple !!! he is BAD NEWS !!!!

 

[Aluminum213]

I hope he's right, because my Apple stock is not looking healthy at the moment!

Couple months ago to was less then $400, now it's closing in at $600

 

[Aucun Express]

This reckless behaviour should be illegal. On his new Website, he states that he wants real corporate democracy. What he is doing seems more like corporate plutocracy, where rich investors are so big that a simple tweet from them can dramatically change the stock price of a company.
This looks like a mafia behaviour.
And who does he think he is, saying that "Apple’s Board of Directors does not currently include an individual with a track record as an investment professional." Who the hell cares?

And I'll stop with one interesting fact. See that in this letter, he does not mention any Apple product? Of course, he only cares about Apple's big pile of cash.

 

[charlieroberts]

I think the most telltale part of his letter is the part where he disses the board investment savvy.

I think he ultimately wants a seat, the 150B buyback is a little ridiculous and he knows it, but hes offering advice in hopes that they will take him onboard to continue to "show them the way", even if they dont spend the whole 150B.

And as much as I hate people comparing SJ to TC, I really think this would not have happened under SJ. Alas, lets hope TC is not as starstruck with Icahn as he appears to be.

(I would NOT mind stock going to 1000 usd )

 

[Mike Oxard]

But are you an investor at the same level that Icahn is? Are you internationally renowned for being an investor? Is it your living?? Would you get a meeting with Tim if you requested it? I very much doubt it. This man is qualified to give advise, none of us here are.

You don't need to be qualified to question someones motives.

 

[835153]

He's bought a load of stock. He now wants Apple to buy up more to raise the price further then he will sell and the stock will end up back where it was.

If the stock is undervalued, why doesn't he buy more?

 

[rei101]

Yes, he will make the stocks go to $1200 each and then sell them all, he would make an unbelievable profit while Apple stocks may fall well under $400 after that game because it was a bubble that he generated over appreciating the company.

 

[rmatthewware]

You are an investor. Your only stake is to make money off the achievements of others. You can make requests but Apple doesn't have to obey them. If you don't like it, sell your stock or get enough support to take over the company.

Otherwise, eff off.

 

[the8thark]

I love how so many people on here think they are smarter than this guy and also that they are smart enough to be advising Tim Cook.

This guy is a BILLIONAIRE, you think *you* know better than him?!

Amazing.

Rich people can be market manipulators and *******s too you know.

 

[flottenheimer]

Is it normal for large investors like Icahn to be as outspoken and attention demanding as this?

 

[NewbieCanada]

Depends if you bought it at 700 or 90...

I bought it at about $130. It all started when they introduced the iPod Touch. I wanted one and decided it should pay for itself and sold mutual funds to buy Apple stock, with the idea that it should rise enough between announcement and shipping to "pay" for it. (I wasn't going to actually sell the stock, just a way to justify the expense.

That experience got me out of mutual funds and into the stock market. And I've continued to exploit my personal tastes in my stock purchases, which now include companies like Under Armour and Starbucks.

 

[iPhysicist]

I love how so many people on here think they are smarter than this guy and also that they are smart enough to be advising Tim Cook.

This guy is a BILLIONAIRE, you think *you* know better than him?!

Amazing.

This guy got rich with the money other people worked (and paid with their health) for. It is the money they put on the bank to pay for their retirement and so on...

What he does is leveraging the market. He's rich and ruthless - nothing more.

 

[run1976]

You don't need to be qualified to question someones motives.

+1
This guy does not seem to understand the concept of free press or democracy. We constantly have to question the motives and actions of people who are more expert than us in their respective fields of expertise.

 

[AppleVsAndroid]

Aggressive buyback of X amount is a must (not 150 B but Quick buyback not 3 years period). Apple needs to reduce the float!
They rather buyback and save those dividend payments than to waste money on others!

Apple still will have tons of cash to do other stuff!

 

[powers74]

I am not a financier, but it sure sounds like an attempt at a money grab after stock prices push up. I would think Apple smart enough not to fall for his antics.

One would think...

 

[guzhogi]

This reckless behaviour should be illegal.

If a company tried to make these kinds of profits, many people would probably call them a great company since companies are supposed to maximize profit. Where are the people congratulating him on trying to maximize his profit?

Note: I'm not saying that this is a good thing. Just saying that so many idolize people/companies that maximize profits, even if it's at the expense of other people.

I think he ultimately wants a seat, the 150B buyback is a little ridiculous and he knows it

While Apple does have a lot of stock on hand (over $100 billion, right?), it's not enough buy back $150 billion worth of stock. Plus, most of that money is oversees. AM I correct in thinking that Apple would have to pay taxes on bringing it back to the states for the buyback? I don't see Apple willing to go probably tens of billions of dollars in debt to try to raise stock prices by a sizable amount. Wasn't Steve Jobs proud that Apple, at the time, had no debt? Sure, Apple could probably pay off the debt in a few years, but even then they'd just be breaking even with no cash reserves.

 

[webmaker]

Blah

If I were 75 plus years old with 2.5 bil. I would use that money to live my life and perhaps do good for humanity. Rather than invest in stocks and wait on making more money from it.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

These threads always end the same way - with a bunch of Apple fans who don't understand finance making irrelevant and exaggerated points. I will leave the thread stating a few things:

1) Apple's duty is to its shareholders. The company is not run for the benefit of its managers and they do not own the majority of the company.
2) Apple has had and currently has enough cash that performing an increased buyback would not hinder its ability to make great, new products. If they needed the cash over the last ten years the cash pile would simply not be as large as it is.
3) When I buy $500 of Apple stock I want to buy a focused technology company, not $250 of a tech company and $250 of cash earning 1% per year.

 

[Cyrax]

Say what you will about Carl Icahn. Management has the most amount of information to determine if the stock is undervalued. If they feel the stock is undervalued, then a buyback is an excellent use of funds.

Right now Apple's cash is doing nothing. As much as bloggers talk about how great their stockpile is, it's really not. If anything it sends a negative signal - that they can't figure out a more productive use of it. Right now it is earning some low interest rate rather than being invested in new products to generate a higher return.

Reinvesting it in Apple through a buyback says they feel the company is worth more and are putting their money where their mouth is.

 

[slapppy]

Vampire...When Apple succumbs to the influence of people like this Vampire, thats the day Apple will begin its death spiral again.

 

[TsunamiTheClown]

Hey big man

lemme hold a dollar.

 

[mike-sr29]

I love how so many people on here think they are smarter than this guy and also that they are smart enough to be advising Tim Cook.

This guy is a BILLIONAIRE, you think *you* know better than him?!

Amazing.

Buying ones own stock back in huge quantities is pathetic if you are a top tier company with a strong future. Buying your own stock means your best rate of return you can get is to buy your own stock!

Which, in the case of Apple, is not true. Apple has great products to invent and product categories to disrupt, witness the iPhone. Televisions are unfriendly and are a business ripe for disruption.

As I said before, here's your hat, what's your hurry.

 

[bpfesq]

These threads always end the same way - with a bunch of Apple fans who don't understand finance making irrelevant and exaggerated points. I will leave the thread stating a few things:

1) Apple's duty is to its shareholders. The company is not run for the benefit of its managers and they do not own the majority of the company.
2) Apple has had and currently has enough cash that performing an increased buyback would not hinder its ability to make great, new products. If they needed the cash over the last ten years the cash pile would simply not be as large as it is.
3) When I buy $500 of Apple stock I want to buy a focused technology company, not $250 of a tech company and $250 of cash earning 1% per year.

The problem is, most of that cash is parked overseas and would cause a HUGE tax hit if they were to repatriate it through a buyback, dividend, etc.