Preliminary Apple proxy filing details Carl Icahn's $50B stock buyback plan up for shareholder vote

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  • Reply 21 of 120
    sog35 wrote: »
    What are your motives?  Isn't it to make money?  Or you do buy AAPL stock to say 'hey I own apple stock'.

    Did he kick the corpse of Netflix? or Herblife?  Those companies are doing 100x better since Ichan bought shares shook up the board.  He sold Netflix recently and Netflix is much stronger than when he bought them.

    Ichan's company has returned an average of 22% per year the last 10 years.  He ain't no day trader or vampire.  He is more Warren Buffet than typical Gordon Gecko

    His short term motivation to make money is at cross-purposes with my long term motivation to make money and provide capital that supports Apple's LONG TERM survival and success.

    Also, I don't own shares in Icahns company...do you?
  • Reply 22 of 120
    gtr wrote: »
    When Keyser Söze puts his kids to bed at night, if they’re naughty, he threatens them with this picture.

    “Don’t go to sleep for your pop and Carl Icahn will get you."

    He grinds the bones of children to make his bread.
  • Reply 23 of 120
    sog35 wrote: »
    WRONG.  They paid $0 with the current buyback of about $20B this year.  They used foreign cash and floated a Bond at 2%.  After taking out the dividend the interest on the bond is basically ZERO. 

    They don't need to repatriate anything to pay $50B in 2014.  Please be more informed about the situation before you pass judgement.


    Is that Carl's plan? Apple borrowed $17B and paid the rest with domestic cash on hand. Your saying borrow another $50B? Can you cite the details of Carl's plan? Mi only read the apple proxy filing summary which doesn't mention where the cash will come from.
  • Reply 24 of 120
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

     

    Its a good thing.

     

    A decrease in share count means each share represents a larger percentage of the company.  For example if there were 100 shares available and you owned 10 shares you would own 10% of the company.  If a buyback purchases 50 shares then you would own 20% of the company.  You would have 20% stake in all of Apple's assets.  As far as stock price it should go up also since Earnings PER SHARE will go up since there are less shares outstanding.

     

    There are also very good reasons to start a $50B buyback this fiscal year:

     

    1.  Interest rates are near all time lows.  We won't be able to say that in a year or two.

    2.  Apple's stock price is severely under-valued

    3.  Apple pays a 2% dividend

    4.  Apple has over $150B in cash and generates $50B free cash flows a year

    5.  The $150B cash is generating 1% returns

     

    Unless Apple is planning on making acquisitions of over $150B in the next 12 months I see no reason for them to continue to hoard the cash.  Even if they payout $50B in buybacks they still will have $150B at the end of 2014.  Floating a bond at today's interest rates would cost Apple basically ZERO.  They would not have to pay the 2% dividend and would be able to write off the interest expense. 

     

    I hold 300 shares of Apple stock and I will vote yes to the buyback

     

    The only way the Buyback is a bad idea is if LONG-TERM you think the stock will be worth less than $560.  If that's the case you should just sell your shares and invest in something else.


     

    That is my thought, so why is Apple against it? What is the downside for them? 

  • Reply 25 of 120
    gtr wrote: »
    When Keyser Söze puts his kids to bed at night, if they’re naughty, he threatens them with this picture.

    “Don’t go to sleep for your pop and Carl Icahn will get you."

    He reminds me of an old man I'd expect to see on The Muppets.
  • Reply 26 of 120
    BRAVO
    You said it all in a few words
  • Reply 27 of 120
    sog35 wrote: »
    I have 3 possible reasons:

    1. Board is extremely risk adverse.  Which is NOT a good thing in business.  Yes the stock price may go down and you may look stupid.  But you are guarantying failure if you do nothing and let the cash sit at 1% year after year.

    2. Board knows of a massive acquisition costing over $100B

    3. Board does not want to appear weak or an enabler to Ichan.

    My guess is #3.  But if shareholders vote yes the board would probably go with the shareholders to save face.

    Give it a rest. Neither you nor any of us here know what Apple's future plans are. And I'm pretty sure Icahn has no knowledge in this matter either. I trust the board over Icahn with few exceptions (and a board that included Icahn would be a massive mistake if he has designs on such a thing).
  • Reply 28 of 120
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Apple's market cap is over 500B. How in the world could they possibly go private? I'm sorry but that's silly talk.
  • Reply 29 of 120
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,198member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post

     
    Icahn


    (Photo taken in the weeks before Carl Icahn's bar mitzvah.)

  • Reply 30 of 120
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    sog35 wrote: »
    Everyone here who is against the buyback is saying the same thing:

    Icahn is GREEDY so he must be wrong.

    Give us GOOD reasons why not to do a buyback when Apple is at historically low valuations (14 PE) and historically low interest rates to float a bond.

    Again don't just say Icahn is greedy.  Thats not a good reason.  Show me stats and figures.  Give me reasons.

    My reason is that $200,000,000,000 in cash languishing in 1% CD's is losing over $15,000,000,000 in opportunity cost a year (vs 8% rate of return)
    My reason is Apple will still have $150B in cash even with the buyback.  Probably closer to $180B if they float a bond.
    My reason is net of dividends the interest on the bonds are costing Apple ZERO.
    My reason is I believe this stock should be valued at $675-$700.  Why wait till the stock is $700 to buyback?  Current buyback runs all the way to 2015.  The time to buy shares is now when its dirt cheap.

    Apple is already doing a buy back
    Why is more debt favorable ?
    Even if Apple buys 50% of its remaining shares, I (and the majority of individual share holders) will still own less than 0.00001%.
    Less shares on the market could mean outside entities could get a larger margin of shares and place their own BoD members for election.
    Short term stock price rise. Once crazy Carl gets his target price, he's gone. Apple will still be in debt.
    I don't like outsiders telling Apple how to run the company.

    Vote No.
  • Reply 31 of 120
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    sog35 wrote: »
    Trust the Board?  Same wonderful Board that fired Steve Jobs?

    Are you that dense or just spreading Mis-information? Name one current board member that was also on the board 30 years ago.
  • Reply 32 of 120
    sog35 wrote: »
    Trust the Board?  Same wonderful Board that fired Steve Jobs?

    You mean the board that brought Steve back? That board?
  • Reply 33 of 120
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    sog35 wrote: »
    Everyone here who is against the buyback is saying the same thing:
    Icahn is GREEDY so he must be wrong.

    Give us GOOD reasons why not to do a buyback when Apple is at historically low valuations (14 PE) and historically low interest rates to float a bond.

    Again don't just say Icahn is greedy.  Thats not a good reason.  Show me stats and figures.  Give me reasons.

    My reason is that $200,000,000,000 in cash languishing in 1% CD's is losing over $15,000,000,000 in opportunity cost a year (vs 8% rate of return)
    My reason is Apple will still have $150B in cash even with the buyback.  Probably closer to $180B if they float a bond.
    My reason is net of dividends the interest on the bonds are costing Apple ZERO.
    My reason is I believe this stock should be valued at $675-$700.  Why wait till the stock is $700 to buyback?  Current buyback runs all the way to 2015.  The time to buy shares is now when its dirt cheap.
    Hmm...Apple is now a dividend paying company. Apple took on debt in order to finance stock buybacks. Basically they've done everything Wall Street wanted and the stock is still way undervalued. You really think more buybacks will matter?
  • Reply 34 of 120
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    I think sog35 is Carl Icahn. Hi Carl.
  • Reply 35 of 120
    jungmark wrote: »
    I think sog35 is Carl Icahn. Hi Carl.

    I think sog35 is Icahn's little vampire daughter.
  • Reply 36 of 120
    There is no political will in Congress or the White House to get behind a change in tax policy.

    I don't think Apple or the other companies holding the remaining trillions or so are in any hurry when they can borrow low domestic and use offshore cash to bolster production capacity. 2014 elections and the lamest part of a lame duck president aren't far off.
  • Reply 37 of 120
    christophb wrote: »
    I don't think Apple or the other companies holding the remaining trillions or so are in any hurry when they can borrow low domestic and use offshore cash to bolster production capacity. 2014 elections and the lamest part of a lame duck president aren't far off.

    This president has been lame since day one...but back to the show!
  • Reply 38 of 120
    This president has been lame since day one...but back to the show!

    For the record I was referring to the last two years of the term. If the senate swaps in 2015, it will be interesting times.
  • Reply 39 of 120
    The most valuable franchise in the NFL is $2.3 BILLION
    The average is half
    The owner built the stadium in a location without any MASS transportation
    He charges$75.00 to park
    Can you imagine the current BOD or TIm Cook making that kind of decision?
    We miss you Steve Jobs, the last entrepreneur at Apple
    Put Jerry Jones on the board
  • Reply 40 of 120
    flabingo wrote: »
    The most valuable franchise in the NFL is $2.3 BILLION
    The average is half
    The owner built the stadium in a location without any MASS transportation
    He charges$75.00 to park
    Can you imagine the current BOD or TIm Cook making that kind of decision?
    We miss you Steve Jobs, the last entrepreneur at Apple
    Put Jerry Jones on the board

    And he can con the US voters to fund his infrastructure and then put a crap product on the market?
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