“Faced with questions at the annual shareholders meeting over what Apple would do with its cash — which stands at about one-fifth of its market capitalization — Jobs said having the money at hand offers security for the company,” Madway and Oreskovic report. “‘When you take risks, it’s like jumping in the air. When they don’t work out, it’s nice to know the ground is always there,’ the chief executive said.”
“Since Apple spends little on acquisitions, analysts and shareholders want the company to put the money to work through a cash dividend or share buyback,” Madway and Oreskovic report. “But Jobs — who skipped last year’s annual meeting because he was on medical leave for a liver transplant — indicated he saw such a move as having little lasting impact on Apple’s share value.”
Madway and Oreskovic report, “The company he founded was now big enough that it had to ‘think big’ to move the needle, Jobs said.”
Full article here.
Let the speculation begin about what Steve is ‘thinking big’ about…
I hope buys Dropbox and incorporates it into OS X.
I freakin’ LOVE Dropbox!
http://www.dropbox.com
Tired of hearing the same bullshit.
Apple will never, ever need anywhere near 40 billion in cash, and it will only go up from there.
Stop the bullshit and either buy something, buy shares back, or do a dividend to the shareholders for at least part of it.
Jobs is no longer credible on this issue.
I would love for Apple to buy TiVo and put a Mac mini DVR in every home it can!
Remember that “Home Hub” that you talked about Steve just a few years ago? TiVo is pocket change and it forces all the media suppliers to deal with Apple!
That would go real well with that 1 BILLION DOLLAR SERVER FARM IN N.C. You know, the server farm that is about to come on line (if it isn’t already to serve when the iPads start shipping NEXT MONTH).
They’re saving up to buy the United States so they can give the money back to the shareholders.
Acquisition targets I like:
* A (most any) cellular provider
* Multimedia company(s); TV, movies, etc.
* Record label(s)
How about “JobsLand” or a flying iCar.
X:
If you don’t think you’re getting your reward , then you’re not an investor. If you are, then you’re either an idiot or a greedy pig because Apple shares have been outperforming all honest investments for years, without dividends or buybacks.
@X
And you are qualified to make that evaluation how? If you are privy to some information about what Apple plans NOT to do with this money I’d love to hear it.
Total global internet provider.
Adobe… Cancel all windows versions of the creative suite then redesign flash based on HTML 5.0. This will ensure all creative types (around the world) who are serious about music, film, graphic & web design will need a mac to play and THEN the world will finally embrace apple and admit they always knew Gates was a thief and a poor lover to boot. Jobs will then be given the magic freemason’s sceptor to rule the world and peace shall reign forevermore…
I’ll second the DropBox acquisition. Absolutely LOVE it!
@crayon1:
I like the way you are thinking!
People who think they can run Apple better or don’t like how the money is sitting, go invest somewhere else. Nobody is making you own Apple shares. These idiots act like they’re not getting some rather nice dividends, plus price per share increases. Go see how other company stocks are doing.
@crayon1
I love that vision!
Come on, there can be only one ultimate goal for Steve. Wait enough time for microsoft to get a lower market cap and have enough cash to buy them out and then dismantle them.
Stock split.
Then how about this: When 4g becomes more widely available,
create 4,000 * 2000 res DOWNLOADS that can be viewed in 3d.
Panasonic, and Sony will BOTH be coming out with 3d tv, and blu-ray 3d. That’s the future. And Disney is of course involved in 3d movies. WHY does the newest i-mac have res BEYOND 1920 * 1080 ? Is there for no reason for this ? What can I display NOW that uses this. (like a movie.) Pixels for no reason ? Oh yeah I almost forgot about the PS3 3d comming out THIS year.
as a shareholder i don’t want apple to give up on that cash reserve but going forward i would suggest to pay a dividend of half the quarterly profits. so apple’s cash hoard is still growing and it has enough cash on hands to make a bold move and shareholders are rewarded too. a nice little compromise.
2 cents. Stock split costs Apple NOTHING, and probably is worth more (in the long run) than dividends.
Keep the $$ in R & D.
buy Microsoft when then market cap is low enough.
migrate all ms users over to a real os.
think bigly???
think big and different
Never going to happen because it is more or less throwing the money away, but I’d like them to branch out into the ISP/cell carrier business.
Do it all over the air. Internet service and VOIP telephony from Apple. Subsidized by hardware prices. I’d rather pay, up front, $500 more for a hardware device and pay $25 a month for unlimited broadband data to all Apple devices that I own than pay the $180 a month I currently am for TV, internet, and cell.
It’s a pipe dream but if there is anyone that I would like to pay monthly for unlimited data, that company would be Apple.
–mAc
I like mAc-warrior’s idea.
Given Jobs’ way of historically breaking new ground, Apple will use the $$$ in ways that will prove surprising and innovative. Somehow the iPad and iPhone will be a driving force here.
Purchasing Adobe is a bad idea. Better to diss their products, especially Flash, then offer more efficient alternatives either in-house or through the open-source community.
The Apple Network – TV, Music, Movies etc all in one place…..