Apple Pays $2.5 Billion in Dividends to Shareholders
iPhone maker distributing $45 billion over next three years. You can thank Tim Cook for that.
Apple has paid its third dividend to shareholders, delivering about $2.5 billion at $2.65 per share across the iPhone maker's 939 million outstanding shares.
The company initially announced plans for its dividend program back in March, as well as a $10 billion share buyback program. It said that each quarter it would pay shareholders a $2.65 per share dividend, with this quarter's payment occurring on February 14.
CEO Tim Cook stated that Apple has "used some of our cash to make great investments in our business through increased research and development, acquisitions, new retail store openings, strategic prepayments and capital expenditures in our supply chain, and building out our infrastructure. You’ll see more of all of these in the future."
“Even with these investments, we can maintain a war chest for strategic opportunities and have plenty of cash to run our business. So we are going to initiate a dividend and share repurchase program."
Over the next three years, Apple said its planned buyback and dividend plans will take $45 billion from its cash pile. During the fourth quarter of 2012, the firm said it made $16 billion in cash after which its cash pile increased to $137.1 billion. Consequently, Apple is the richest company on the planet.
Apple will continue to pay new quarterly dividends about six weeks after the end of each quarter. However, it has faced a lawsuit from a key shareholder who believes the company should share more of its cash, with Apple emphasizing that it's "evaluating" every possible option to do so.
Sorry, even if you do not count Saudi Oil kings which are rumoured to be worth in the trillions... Exxon has assets that totally eclipse Apple's. At the end of 2007 they had 72 billion oil-equivalent barrels and oil is very expensive. I will let you look up the pricing per barrel and do the math. Even then if you take a look at companies like Oracle and IBM with their IP and other assets they dwarf Apple's cash pile plus their assets.
Apple should do something useful with it, like buy Portugal.
They made it 2.65 when the stock was closer to 700 a share...it was a pretty bad dividend that is only decent now that the stock has lost 30% of it's value. I'd rather have my shares be worth 700 with 0 dividend than 500 with a 2% dividend...
When they say richest, in this case, they mean cash, not total assets. Oil is worth a lot, but only if someone is willing to pay for it, you can't buy things with oil.
Cash is only worth something if people place value on it, it's the same thing. And you can buy things with oil, it's called bartering.
This is non-news, especially for TH.
Public trading should be used to raise funds for your company. If you ever give away more than 50% of your stock, then as soon as you have enough funds your should do a stock buyback to return more decision making to the company's elected officials. The ones that are truly invested into the company, not just trying to squeeze profit from it. Instead Apple has caved and gives more power to the stockholders elected officials...
That shareholder knew what he was getting himself into before he bought the non-dividend paying Apple share, unless he was one of those lucky guys that bought the shares/stock when it was extremely cheap if thats the case he should shut up and be thankful of the 200%+ increase of his shares/stock value over the 10 years.
Some investors complain too much.
A corporation can deposite cash in to a bank, and then borrow ten times that amount to use in the financial markets. How much money do you think you can make with 1 trillion dollars? This is common, and the reason the stock and commodity markets are so inflated.
I guess all of Steve Jobs brilliant decisions were for nothing. When he originally ran the company Apple was on top. Then the successors ran it into the ground were it was about to go under. Then he came back and Apple quickly climbed back up to the top. Not just in terms of the computer industry. But ultimately his decisions led to it being the most valuable in the world. Now standard run of the mill executives will run it back into the ground. Just like what seems to happen with every other big company. More concern over next quarters returns rather than a strategic goal.
Whether you like Apple or Steve Jobs or not. You have to admit he was a brilliant businessman. Who knew what would sell.
Heck with the money they have they could fund a mercenary army to conquer a decent sized nation. Then have the ultimate tax shelter, iPhone factory labor force, &c.