While Wall Street obsesses over splashy acquisitions and AI mega-spends, Apple took a quieter, yet far more impactful, path. Instead of using the company’s massive cash reserves to snap up other businesses, Apple invested a staggering $853 billion in share buybacks since 2013. That war chest could have purchased nearly any of the other 487 companies in the S&P 500. Instead, Apple retired more than 44% of its own shares, supercharged earnings per share, and delivered extraordinary returns to long-term shareholders.
Sean Williams for The Motley Fool:
Beginning in 2013, Apple began repurchasing a lot of its own stock — and it hasn’t stopped:
2013: $22.95 billion in buybacks
2014: $45 billion
2015: $35.253 billion
2016: $29.722 billion
2017: $32.9 billion
2018: $72.738 billion
2019: $66.897 billion
2020: $72.358 billion
2021: $85.971 billion
2022: $89.402 billion
2023: $77.55 billion
2024: $94.949 billion
2025: $90.711 billion
2026: $36.989 billion (through the fiscal second quarter)One reason Apple has been aggressive with share buybacks is that it helps the company’s optics…
Another reason Tim Cook and the Apple board went all-in on buybacks is that President Donald Trump’s tax policies made it logical to do so. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law by Trump in December 2017, permanently lowered the peak marginal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% (the lowest level since 1939). Being able to retain more of its earnings gave Apple a clear path to repurchase its stock without pulling capital away from research and development. This is why buybacks catapulted higher in 2018 (and beyond).
Lastly, share repurchases often incentivize long-term investing, which can minimize volatility.
MacDailyNews Take: Fewer AAPL shares mean bigger slices for longterm Apple shareholders, although it might’ve been nice to have acquired Tesla for $18.51B, or even $52.32B – $57.44B when Musk reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla (Cook refused to take the meeting or even engage on the topic).
Tesla Year-End Market Values:
2013: $18.51 billion
2014: $27.95 billion
2015: $31.54 billion
2016: $34.42 billion
2017: $52.32 billion
2018: $57.44 billion
2019: $75.71 billion
2020: $668.90 billion
2021: $1.061 trillion
2022: $388.97 billion
2023: $789.89 billion
2024: $1.296 trillion
2025: $1.496 trillion
An investment of $18.51B that results in $1.496 trillion a mere dozen years later is a 7,982.12% increase. From 2013 to 2025, Apple’s market value increased 702.88% (not shabby, but still).
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