MacDailyNews Take: Bullshit. We’re AAPL shareholders (we know, can you believe it?) and we’re not exasperated or frustrated with Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ leadership or his decision to grow Apple’s cash pile into a mountain. Amazingly, we trust Steve Jobs over Toni “I Can’t Find Those Missing iPhones, Oh Wait, Whoops, They’re Not Missing” Sacconaghi.
P.E.D. continues, “Now he’s come up a new argument. So many institutional asset managers already own Apple, he says, that unless the company starts distributing some of that cash to shareholders, there will be nobody left to buy the stock.”
MacDailyNews Take: Yeah, just like there were no iPhones and then, suddenly, poof!, millions. Sacconaghi is a hack.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: On Toni’s very best day, Gene Munster could defecate more cogent AAPL analysis.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Dan K.” and “James W.” for the heads up.]
I don’t want to see a dividend or stock buyback either.
The time to do buybacks is when you’ve got a load of cash, and the shares are trading FAR below their historic highs. This is not such a time.
-jcr
sack-o-nagtard
how do these guys have legitimate jobs?
seriously.
@MDN:
This is the reason why I keep coming to your site…your takes are outrageously funny and right to the point!!! I love it.
Maybe he should float that led balloon over Google’s camp,
The people behind the non-existent Chinese wall are pressuring these cretins to find a way to share the cash hoard with them. They definitely do not like a dividend. They want a buyback to collect those 30 basis point fees.
I don’t want a dividend. 51 billion is almost enough to bid on the upcoming bandwidth availability and launch 33 low orbit satellites to provide high speed coverage everywhere on earth. Goodbye AT&T, Verizon and Android!
Shut up Toni. How much do you have in Apple? Those of us that do, don’t have a problem with Steve handling our money for us. He’s done just fine so far, I’ve made a lot of money (well, relative to my paltry original investment anyway). None of your business.
@ Doug,
You realize that satphones are line of sight. They work fine when you’re walking in a park with few trees. In a canyon downtown, it’s iffy to say the least. In an office building, maybe, over by the window. At home, only with an attached roof antenna or beside a big picture window. On a train, maybe, at a window seat, nothing under a bridge. In a subway, no way. In a car with a roof mount attached antenna.
Apple won’t make shitty satellite iOS devices.
I still have shares bought in 1982 or so (three splits ago). They’re coming along just fine.
I don’t particularly want to see a dividend or buy back, but I would like to see Apple do something with its cash horde or at least provide better guidance.
Unlike many of you, I don’t think Apple’s business sucks. I think it’s quite stellar and certainly far better than the crappy return it’s currently getting on the bulk of the cash it’s sitting on.
When I buy Apple stock, I want to buy into Apple’s business…because I like their business and the likely return on it. I don’t buy Apple stock to put my cash on a shelf to lose value (low interest/inflation/opportunity cost).
Almost anything Apple could (reasonably) do with the cash would provide a better return than the crappy return it’s currently getting.
As an owner of AAPL stock, I’m perfectly fine with the Apple holding onto their cash “hoard.”
Never know what opportunities / uses there might be for it.
Why would Apple buy back its stock at historic highs? Just to spend its cash? How stupid.
Apple has no reason to buy back its stock. Apple has no reason to issue a dividend, which a company typically offers when it is really not growing significantly, so the stock is not expected to increase much, but you still want buyers for your stock. See Microsoft, GM, etc.
To spend money just to spend it is exactly why our economy is in the crapper right now, Toni.
As long as the world is in a recession, I like having lots of cash.
When Apple says that the cash pile is for the “rainy day”, they don’t mean rainy day for the world (such as current economic depression); they mean rainy day for Apple. Last time Apple had a rainy day was in 1997. Since then, sun kept shining quarter after quarter, and there ain’t no clouds on horizon anywhere you look.
I believe Apple will only significantly dip into that war chest if for some bizarre reason they have a series of bad quarters and their innovation begins to misfire. I wouldn’t hold my breath for that moment, though.
That 51 billion isnt even earning 2 percent. If Apple bought it’s shares back it would have earned tens of percent. Dead money. Jobs is a moron on thus matter
He’s certainly not the first person who doesn’t understand Apple. What’s odd is that he’s become famous for it.
Must have quite a holiday shopping list to take care of.
Apple should keep it for sure and keep their customer service top notch. This is even more important in the future as I sense that their products are not as well put together as they used to be (don’t flame me…it is a personal opinion based on overseeing a lot of Macs, iPods etc). Maybe its due to their increasing complexity. Nonetheless, their service is second to none.
@X
There is a joke in your ‘moron’ comment somewhere…n’yuk n’yuk
I have one question or Toni Sacconaghi.
“Will a stock dividend or stock buyback help Apple increase revenue or grow their business?”
The answer is “NO!!”, so lets just drop this already.
MDN Magic Word=”last” I’m hoping this is the last we will have to hear of Toni (wishful thinking… I know)
Sacconaghi, what were you recommending in the dark times for APPL? My non institutional investments pail in comparison to my personal investment in AAPL. Up 581%. Think about the competitive advantage to be able to close a big deal for cash. Buy a company, lock in large supply chain deals, buy real estate. Cash is KING. And you think investors are not being rewarded? You Jack-Wagon.
The cash hoard gives Apple the agility of a small company, even though it’s a huge corporation. They can drop one product and come out with something completely new if they want to. They can take risks on a completely new market (like the iPad) and if it tanks, they can recover.
That cash gives Apple a *lot* of freedom to try new stuff, do lots of R&D, buy other companies if they need to. It gives Apple the freedom to aim very high and fail without the survival of the company riding on it.
Apple hasn’t failed much lately
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> but hell, the iPad could’ve been a total bust. Nobody else dared make such a product.
I am happy when Apple has $100 Billion in it’s bank. They have done much better with their own money than these ‘investors’ and ‘bankers’ that were bailed out with hundreds of Billions of dollars and Euros.
STFU Toni!
Here’s how an AAPL investor gives himself a “special dividend.” Sell a few shares. Three shares is about $1000.
That way, the investor controls when it happens and the amount, and likely pays a lower tax ONLY on the capital gain portion (instead of paying regular income tax on the full dividend amount).
And let Apple use its cash reserve as it sees fit.