for starters, dont think of shares as just a piece of paper. its a right over the value of current assets and any additional profits in the forseeable future
you wouldnt think money in your pocket is just a piece of paper do you?
anyway, macrumors is probably not the best place to discuss finance. ill move to other forums to voice my thoughts lol
I don't see how that is much different than what I said. When i say a 'piece of paper', I don't mean that it's worthless. But it is just trading paper. It's not giving money to Apple. You could of course sell that paper and make a profit, and Icahn could do that, if he wanted, because it is very valuable paper right now. He just wants apple to essentially destroy a bunch of the outstanding paper first so that his paper is worth more when he dumps it.
I realize that it gives you you a tiny fraction of ownership, but I admitted as much in my initial post. It gives you a vote, it's a just a very small one. Technically it is a claim on future assets, but again, it is a vanishing small value.
The only value is in its possible appreciation. I get it that shareholders are arguing for moves that cause this appreciation, I'm just saying that what they argue for and what is in the best interest of the company are not the same thing, for late investors like this, and especially for a financial move like this.
Makes sense from an investor's standpoint, but not much from the companies standpoint.