“When the company reported earnings earlier this month, Apple announced it was adding another $50 billion to its capital return program, focusing heavily on share repurchases,” The Motley Fool reports. “In this segment from Industry Focus: Tech, Motley Fool analyst Dylan Lewis and senior tech specialist Evan Niu discuss Apple’s cash position and new standing as the world’s largest dividend payer.”
Some snippets from Evan Niu:
• Maybe the Trump administration will actually have some type of [repatriation tax] holiday. There’s been a lot of talk about that. But at this point, it’s still pretty uncertain, if that will happen sometime. If there is a one-time repatriation deal, either deemed repatriation or a one-time thing, I do think Apple would take that opportunity to bring quite a bit of cash back. But, at the same time, I think we have to acknowledge that the majority of their capital needs are actually outside of the U.S.
• I’m not a fan of the whole “make a huge blockbuster acquisition” idea, which some people like to talk about. I think that would be kind of irresponsible. But, we’ll see what happens. It really hinges on this idea of a tax repatriation, because that would allow them to really bring back more and either give it back or do something more productive with it.
• [Apple] did boost their quarterly dividend payment 10.5%, it is now $0.63 per share. Now, Apple is the world’s largest dividend payer, it just passed ExxonMobil, which is just another fun tidbit about the scale of their business and how quickly they are printing cash.
Read more and watch the video in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We believe there will be action on both corporate taxes and a repatriation tax holiday eventually. It’s interesting to note that Apple is now the world’s largest dividend payer. Whodathunkit a mere decade ago?!
SEE ALSO:
Analyst: Apple could double dividend, buy Netflix with repatriated cash under President Trump’s U.S. corporate tax changes
Friday, March 17, 2017
Apple’s real dividend yield is much higher than you might think – March 10, 2017
MDN: Yeah sure, think that happens before agent orange is taken down, eventually…?
Absolutely no reason for Apple to pay dividends.
The hope is you are an aspiring writer of sarcasm. If not, you need to find another topic to opine about because you don’t know too much about Apple’s financials, capital program or equity markets.
Stick to your art dingleberry and your non too subtle political angle. Here’s the thing about art – one’s man’s art is another man’s trash collection.
AAPL maxes out PLUM (+-BUN), with respect to YTD SAMN.
So it comes as little surprise that they pay dividends.
Steve Jobs retired Apple’s debt and sent an e-mail from his hospital bed to no ounce the company was debt free.
Tim Cook has greatly indebted Apple trying to evade US taxes.
Absolutely no reason for Apple to pay dividends to blood suckers and idlers.
How about to people like me who worked hard to earn a modest income, led a frugal life that allowed me to save a little more than I spent, and then bought some AAPL to help secure my future? Am I a blood sucker and idler? Are all who purchase equities evil?
Stick a cork in it dingleberry.
Mr. Dingler,
I am genuinely curious. How do you expect Apple or any other business to attract investors if the investors cannot make money? How do you expect the company to remain in business without investors?
Dividends make Apple attractive to long-term investors. Otherwise, nobody would own the stock except those who want to pump and dump for a quick profit. I can remember when Apple was one of the most volatile stocks on the market, and those were not good days for the company.
If Apple shareholders could not make money, they would dump their shares, the price would plummet, and some corporate raider or another would buy a controlling interest. I shudder to think what would happen to the company if it were run by people with no interest in anything other than taking the company private and selling it for parts.
Again, please explain your reasoning.
I am an Apple shareholder and have been for years. Let me explain this to you.
Every year some dingleberry would ask Steve Jobs about dividends at the shareholder’s meeting and Steve would tell them some variant on the state that of it was his job to drive the stock price higher- that is how you got a return on your investment.
Both Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos built companies on hard charging and disregarded the dividend crowd. Amazon has been bitched about for years over reinvesting into the business and building new business instead of handing out money to hangers on. Apple USED to be like that.
Meet Tim Cook- utility executive. He makes the trains run on time, does not crash the train, does not fail to make sure the shareholders get their pellet every quarter. That is what has happened to Apple. Cook has turned a Ferrari into a Hyundai Minivan- a politically correct, touchy-feely minivan that gives money to Republicans like the scam artist Paul Ryan.
Note that the guys who drive a company like they stole it- Jobs, Bezos, Musk, etc. grow the business, drive up the stock price, make great products and generally run over the competition. Notice how the company that once wanted to change the world now wants you to consider their retail store your town square and sell you a watch band or Coffee Table Book. The great innovations under Cook were to buy a rental music store- an idea pioneered by Real Networks and Microsoft, overpriced throwaway watches- an idea pioneered by Swatch, a cloud connected speaker- an idea pioneered by Amazon, self driving car technology- an idea pioneered by Google, Uber, Tessa and others, and paying dividends- an idea pioneered by your local gas company.
I own stock in Amazon, Apple, and Tesla. I am still buying Amazon and Tesla stock, but not Apple. Apple under Tim Cook has become a typical Wall Street mentality financial engineering company. They are coasting, but the momentum will not last forever. Should a fickle public tire of the iPhone they are in big trouble.
Why should the owners of the company make no money? The workers are paid well, research is heavily and fully funded. Stockholders are not bloodsuckers. They put up hard earned money and faith that company’s ideas, products and services will make money. They do in money when the company can’t do it for themselves. Now, when the profits come in, you expect they do not deserve a return on the money they put in?
Being that I’m not an artist, let me ask a question, do artist not want, or need money. Let the rest of us in on the secret. An artist creates something, but during the time in which he/she creates someone gives them money for food, paint, canvas, marble, clay, tools, computers, rent, etc., and when a object sells you expect to keep all the money? I wonder if that is why there are so many poor starving artist in the world? just asking.
I know this goes against the objectives of a corporation for it’s stock holders, but I would like to see Apple lower the profit margins (on at least the Mac Mini) so it can general larger sales of hardware and increase market share.
Apple only needs to get rid of stock buybacks.
This makes sense …UNLESS price is not the main reason more people are not buying it. Presumably the folks at Apple have a fairly good understanding of why people are — and are not — buying their products. If the problem is not price, then price is not really the answer.
History has shown us that the ‘most profitable’ does not automatically equate to the ‘best’. It’s all well and good for now, but I chose Apple initially (during the days of RISC vs. Intel) because their quality and vision were second to none. If that continues to change as it has, I myself will change accordingly. Profits aren’t everything, folks. I know I’m not the only one that feels this way. :/
“If that continues to change as it has, I myself will change accordingly”.
Why even say this? Who are you making a point to? Are you really proposing you’d be better off with Winblows or Linux?
Im long term Apple since the early PowerMac and Performa…never owned or rarely used a Win$in PC.
I enjoy my dividend 4 times a year, but I must agree with DavGreg that Apple is coasting on a big wave and to date is not creating a new wave. Cook is solid, but is not Jobs. Jobs was an inventor…you can’t just want to become an inventor and then become one…it’s inside you. I’d like to write the next Van Halen 1 album, but I’m not EVH. I point the missile at Jonathan Ive, who, with Jobs, designed Apple’s future. Ive needs to step up and get inspired…he’s enjoying his success way too much. Also, I think Phil Shiller still has some of the Job’s mentality left in him and should have leadership and not be complacent. Derrick Jeter said he fought for his job every night because of the hard nose fans and Steinbrenner would trade him if you had the notion. I challenge Cook, Ive, Schiller to dream big and throw out the rich complacency. Jobs I heard didn’t even have much furniture.