They're buying three states in northern Mexico, annexing them to the US, and setting up solar-powered, fully-robotic factories so that Apple products can be made locally.
My guess: A one-time dividend. Something like $20 per share. I don't think Apple will commit to a regular dividend. They may announce a share buyback, but are they going to buy at these levels? They may just say that they will decide when it is appropriate to buy shares.
Perhaps, a one-time bonus for all workers including those at Foxconn? It will be interesting to see how they approach this.
Ten cents per share dividend. That should shut up the whiners about not getting any dividend. I hope Apple decides to wait until the cash reserve grows to $150 billion and the share price reaches $700 before issuing a dividend and that's what the conference is all about.
Buy half of Detroit, build factories, leave China.
Apple, Made in America.
Rule.
Well.. Not very likely, but seems in the realm of possible(ok not Detroit but a US factory).
They did take a(if you believe the tear down websites) hit on new iPad margins. If true, interesting. Will that continue? Inevitable?
IMO, they should seed tech entrepreneurs... And use funds for innovative tech acquistion etc. Research lab partnerships at universities etc. Again in my humble opine... Apple is great at consumerization of tech, driving tech forward, but not the basic tech development itself.
They're buying three states in northern Mexico, annexing them to the US, and setting up solar-powered, fully-robotic factories so that Apple products can be made locally.
In addition, we'll be immediately replacing Tim Cook with our brand new Apple-brand artificial intelligence CEO, which we lovingly refer to as "iBrain". Thank you for your years of service, Tim... Security!
Apple will host a conference call on Monday at 9 a.m. Eastern, 6 a.m. Pacific to discuss what it plans to do with its $100 billion cash balance.
The company issued a press release at 6 p.m. Eastern on Sunday evening to announce the conference call less than 24 hours in advance. The call will feature Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer.
On the call, the company "will announce the outcome of (its) discussions concerning its cash balance." The press release also said that Apple would not provide an update on its current quarter, nor would it discuss any topics other than cash.
Last quarter, Apple's cash hoard grew to nearly $100 billion, prompting a great deal of discussion among investors and analysts. Executives at Apple simply said that they were "actively discussing" what to do with the money.
Last month, at Apple's annual shareholder meeting, investors again questioned Cook about what Apple planned to do with its cash hoard, with some of them pushing for a cash dividend. But Cook wouldn't commit to any such plans and instead repeated his comments that Apple executives were thinking "very deeply" about what to do with its money.
The growth trajectory of Apple's cash hoard, via Asymco.
With its cash, Apple has continued to make strategic investments to bolster its supply chain and also enhance its current product offerings, as it did with the $50 million purchase of App Store search engine Chomp revealed last month.
AppleInsider will have full live coverage of Apple's conference call when it takes place on Monday morning.
I would love to see Apple buy a major interest in a cable or satellite company. Maybe it's not viable and it is outside their core competencies. However, it could hold Verizon and ATT&T in check; Google's busy laying fiber optic lines; and DirecTV seems to be sniffing around for a buyer.
APPLE should start building factories to create their products in America as well as jobs. Seems farfetched but this would benefit Apple in the long run.
As for declaring a dividend & stock buyback.....Very likely as this would rocket Apples stock and create a buying frenzy.
I'd like a stock buy back and for Apple to announce plans to split the stock. I'm expecting a dividend and an announcement of how successful this weekend's iPads were.
edit: I withdraw my buyback comment for a time when the stock market is suffering.
No buyback please! I'd like to see some evidence that it has ever helped a company's stock
We read about increasing equity. Bah! That's nothing. Look to Microsoft's stock, or HP, or any number of companies over the years. Stocks tend to go up slightly, then drop back again.
If they do anything, I'd rather a one time disbursement, or a dividend, or some combo. Otherwise, there's no guarantee that shareholders will actually see value from it.
Those are the only two realistic ways of reducing the cash/investment balance (only a quarter of it is actually cash and 2/3 of it is in long-term investments). For 2012, at least as far as American shareholders are concerned, a special dividend would be taxed at 15% (the same as a long term capital gain), so that is one way of doing it. A stock buyback doesn't make a whole lot of sense when the stock is trading at a record high, so I'm leaning toward a special dividend.
However, they might announce plans to change how they invest whatever amount they decide to keep (hence my speculation that they might announce the creation of a private equity-type fund).
Short and long term marketable securities. That's an important difference.
Seems majority believe in a dividend and or a split over a buy back.
I support that but...am in Hollywood...work in the entertainment industry and for my money two acquisitions (not that they'd announce it tomorrow) make a whole lotta sense to some of us here.
1) Netflix - Why? Content deals. Apple needs to secure it's position in this arena IF it's gonna go balls out in the TV Content world. Strange that suddenly you can now pay for your sub's in itunes. Just sayin.
2) Sprint - Why? Wireless is the future. Again if you were Apple and going full on into the TV arena and your not getting cooperation from content providers who (some) happen to also control the content pipes into our homes then you'd make a run for a pipe provider giving you access into homes wirelessly. As we heard, Apple is at first base and getting ready to roll out a major boost to WIFI delivery...The only way I see Apple gaining cooperation with content providers and developers like my employer is by having direct access. Thoughts?
Don't know how young your son is, but if he's still in elementary school (or less), you'd be benefitting his education more by keeping him off of computer devices for a while. Kids need to put pen to paper and learn to have the patience to read linear, non-interactive material. Give them highly interactive audio/video at too young an age and they'll have lots of problems acquiring reading skills.
And if Apple did have education pricing (don't they already have education pricing?) it would be for educational institutions, such as schools who want to buy in large numbers. In ages past, they made deals where if the college bookstore stocked Apple, a college ID got you a small discount.
Apple is not of the mind to put an iPad in the hands of every kid, unless those kids' parents are willing to foot the bill. Some will say that's the only legit stand for a public, profit-making company to take and others will say that Apple has become just like any other large selfish company, but it's a moot point because Apple is never going to be giving away anything.
Totally disagree! My daughter started using my Mac when she was 2 1/2 years old. By the time she was three, she was reading books. She was one of a very few who was reading well by kindergarten.
We bought her books such as Grandma and Me, plus D&K dictionary, and a number of other programs. She loved them! I think that kids should get on computers as soon as they can manipulate them. They are amazingly strong learners.
But you have to buy the right programs. Junk isn't the way to go.
Tim cook sold $11M worth of AAPL after taxes last week. Wouldn't a dividend lower the share price? Sounds like a good time to sell. Notice that the announcement is before the market opens, 6am pdt. Is Tim going to let this interfere with his morning workout if it is not absolutely necessary?
Generally, a dividend causes a rise in price, though that may not last. With the stock rising so rapidly, it would be difficult to seperate out a rise caused from a dividend, and where it would be going anyway.
But if they do announce a dividend, and the stock goes up 20 points, that's likely due to the dividend, though it did go up more than $16 one day last week.
STeVEN: Superior Tim-expunging Virtual Executive Nomographer
STeVEN: The products we're about to release need more 'Boom'.
Human exec: I think they have a fair bit of pizazz; they have a real Jobs-like quality to them already.
STeVEN: No, no. We need real 'Boom'. Rig the batteries to short after three full charge cycles. And add one more thing. What it is doesn't matter, just add one.
Repatriate it and pay some taxes. They have been on a streak talking about job creation in the US. If they repatriated any substantial amount, they could brag about helping the gov't too.
Paying an additional 35% would be ridiculous. They have already paid taxes on this money.
Perhaps the government has agreed to split those taxes with the tech companies who are trying to get a break here. Even if these companies paid no taxes on the repatriated cash, it would benefit the economy. It's estimated that tech companies alone have almost $500 billion overseas. If that went into banks and investments here, it would make a big difference, while causing problems abroad.
I definitely don't think acquisition. Any deal so large as to have meaningful impact on their cash would have seen rumors for days or weeks.
Unless they were buying Foxconn, or parts of it, but that's not very likely.
I'd like Apple to set up a wholly-owned manufacturing subsidiary in China. It would handle a percentage (say 10%) of the volume, but the main intent would be to serve as a labor and environmental benchmark, to focus on new products and thus keep them from eyes of third parties more effectively, to grab the best Chinese manufacturing engineering and logistics talent (keeping it out of reach from competitors), and for marketing purposes to Chinese consumers. I don't expect this to happen either.
I see no point in a buyback while the stock is flying, and neither Cook nor Oppenheimer look like guys who like to pay top dollar for anything.
So I think the one-time large dividend ($20?) theory is the most plausible, with or without a split to go along with it. If all they were going to announce was an intent to ramp up acquisitions, they would not choose this kind of time or date.
Dividends seem the most obvious answer so how do people think dividends would be distributed?
What do you mean by distributed? They're given quarter by quarter, so if, for example, Apple were to be very generous and give $20 a share per year, we'd get $5 a quarter. I don't know if that answers your question, or if it has nothing to do with it.
I'd like a stock buy back and for Apple to announce plans to split the stock. I'm expecting a dividend and an announcement of how successful this weekend's iPads were.
edit: I withdraw my buyback comment for a time when the stock market is suffering.
Comments
My guess: A one-time dividend. Something like $20 per share. I don't think Apple will commit to a regular dividend. They may announce a share buyback, but are they going to buy at these levels? They may just say that they will decide when it is appropriate to buy shares.
Perhaps, a one-time bonus for all workers including those at Foxconn? It will be interesting to see how they approach this.
Ten cents per share dividend. That should shut up the whiners about not getting any dividend. I hope Apple decides to wait until the cash reserve grows to $150 billion and the share price reaches $700 before issuing a dividend and that's what the conference is all about.
Buy half of Detroit, build factories, leave China.
Apple, Made in America.
Rule.
Well.. Not very likely, but seems in the realm of possible(ok not Detroit but a US factory).
They did take a(if you believe the tear down websites) hit on new iPad margins. If true, interesting. Will that continue? Inevitable?
IMO, they should seed tech entrepreneurs... And use funds for innovative tech acquistion etc. Research lab partnerships at universities etc. Again in my humble opine... Apple is great at consumerization of tech, driving tech forward, but not the basic tech development itself.
Or
Buy ABC?
Buy yahoo?
Or???
They're buying three states in northern Mexico, annexing them to the US, and setting up solar-powered, fully-robotic factories so that Apple products can be made locally.
In addition, we'll be immediately replacing Tim Cook with our brand new Apple-brand artificial intelligence CEO, which we lovingly refer to as "iBrain". Thank you for your years of service, Tim... Security!
Apple will host a conference call on Monday at 9 a.m. Eastern, 6 a.m. Pacific to discuss what it plans to do with its $100 billion cash balance.
The company issued a press release at 6 p.m. Eastern on Sunday evening to announce the conference call less than 24 hours in advance. The call will feature Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer.
On the call, the company "will announce the outcome of (its) discussions concerning its cash balance." The press release also said that Apple would not provide an update on its current quarter, nor would it discuss any topics other than cash.
Last quarter, Apple's cash hoard grew to nearly $100 billion, prompting a great deal of discussion among investors and analysts. Executives at Apple simply said that they were "actively discussing" what to do with the money.
Last month, at Apple's annual shareholder meeting, investors again questioned Cook about what Apple planned to do with its cash hoard, with some of them pushing for a cash dividend. But Cook wouldn't commit to any such plans and instead repeated his comments that Apple executives were thinking "very deeply" about what to do with its money.
The growth trajectory of Apple's cash hoard, via Asymco.
With its cash, Apple has continued to make strategic investments to bolster its supply chain and also enhance its current product offerings, as it did with the $50 million purchase of App Store search engine Chomp revealed last month.
AppleInsider will have full live coverage of Apple's conference call when it takes place on Monday morning.
[ View article on AppleInsider ]
I would love to see Apple buy a major interest in a cable or satellite company. Maybe it's not viable and it is outside their core competencies. However, it could hold Verizon and ATT&T in check; Google's busy laying fiber optic lines; and DirecTV seems to be sniffing around for a buyer.
As for declaring a dividend & stock buyback.....Very likely as this would rocket Apples stock and create a buying frenzy.
I'd like a stock buy back and for Apple to announce plans to split the stock. I'm expecting a dividend and an announcement of how successful this weekend's iPads were.
edit: I withdraw my buyback comment for a time when the stock market is suffering.
No buyback please! I'd like to see some evidence that it has ever helped a company's stock
We read about increasing equity. Bah! That's nothing. Look to Microsoft's stock, or HP, or any number of companies over the years. Stocks tend to go up slightly, then drop back again.
If they do anything, I'd rather a one time disbursement, or a dividend, or some combo. Otherwise, there's no guarantee that shareholders will actually see value from it.
Those are the only two realistic ways of reducing the cash/investment balance (only a quarter of it is actually cash and 2/3 of it is in long-term investments). For 2012, at least as far as American shareholders are concerned, a special dividend would be taxed at 15% (the same as a long term capital gain), so that is one way of doing it. A stock buyback doesn't make a whole lot of sense when the stock is trading at a record high, so I'm leaning toward a special dividend.
However, they might announce plans to change how they invest whatever amount they decide to keep (hence my speculation that they might announce the creation of a private equity-type fund).
Short and long term marketable securities. That's an important difference.
Acquisition(s) is the only right answer.
I surely hope not.
Read all the posts.
Seems majority believe in a dividend and or a split over a buy back.
I support that but...am in Hollywood...work in the entertainment industry and for my money two acquisitions (not that they'd announce it tomorrow) make a whole lotta sense to some of us here.
1) Netflix - Why? Content deals. Apple needs to secure it's position in this arena IF it's gonna go balls out in the TV Content world. Strange that suddenly you can now pay for your sub's in itunes. Just sayin.
2) Sprint - Why? Wireless is the future. Again if you were Apple and going full on into the TV arena and your not getting cooperation from content providers who (some) happen to also control the content pipes into our homes then you'd make a run for a pipe provider giving you access into homes wirelessly. As we heard, Apple is at first base and getting ready to roll out a major boost to WIFI delivery...The only way I see Apple gaining cooperation with content providers and developers like my employer is by having direct access. Thoughts?
Don't know how young your son is, but if he's still in elementary school (or less), you'd be benefitting his education more by keeping him off of computer devices for a while. Kids need to put pen to paper and learn to have the patience to read linear, non-interactive material. Give them highly interactive audio/video at too young an age and they'll have lots of problems acquiring reading skills.
And if Apple did have education pricing (don't they already have education pricing?) it would be for educational institutions, such as schools who want to buy in large numbers. In ages past, they made deals where if the college bookstore stocked Apple, a college ID got you a small discount.
Apple is not of the mind to put an iPad in the hands of every kid, unless those kids' parents are willing to foot the bill. Some will say that's the only legit stand for a public, profit-making company to take and others will say that Apple has become just like any other large selfish company, but it's a moot point because Apple is never going to be giving away anything.
Totally disagree! My daughter started using my Mac when she was 2 1/2 years old. By the time she was three, she was reading books. She was one of a very few who was reading well by kindergarten.
We bought her books such as Grandma and Me, plus D&K dictionary, and a number of other programs. She loved them! I think that kids should get on computers as soon as they can manipulate them. They are amazingly strong learners.
But you have to buy the right programs. Junk isn't the way to go.
Tim cook sold $11M worth of AAPL after taxes last week. Wouldn't a dividend lower the share price? Sounds like a good time to sell. Notice that the announcement is before the market opens, 6am pdt. Is Tim going to let this interfere with his morning workout if it is not absolutely necessary?
Generally, a dividend causes a rise in price, though that may not last. With the stock rising so rapidly, it would be difficult to seperate out a rise caused from a dividend, and where it would be going anyway.
But if they do announce a dividend, and the stock goes up 20 points, that's likely due to the dividend, though it did go up more than $16 one day last week.
…Apple-brand artificial intelligence CEO…
STeVEN: Superior Tim-expunging Virtual Executive Nomographer
STeVEN: The products we're about to release need more 'Boom'.
Human exec: I think they have a fair bit of pizazz; they have a real Jobs-like quality to them already.
STeVEN: No, no. We need real 'Boom'. Rig the batteries to short after three full charge cycles. And add one more thing. What it is doesn't matter, just add one.
Repatriate it and pay some taxes. They have been on a streak talking about job creation in the US. If they repatriated any substantial amount, they could brag about helping the gov't too.
Paying an additional 35% would be ridiculous. They have already paid taxes on this money.
Perhaps the government has agreed to split those taxes with the tech companies who are trying to get a break here. Even if these companies paid no taxes on the repatriated cash, it would benefit the economy. It's estimated that tech companies alone have almost $500 billion overseas. If that went into banks and investments here, it would make a big difference, while causing problems abroad.
Unless they were buying Foxconn, or parts of it, but that's not very likely.
I'd like Apple to set up a wholly-owned manufacturing subsidiary in China. It would handle a percentage (say 10%) of the volume, but the main intent would be to serve as a labor and environmental benchmark, to focus on new products and thus keep them from eyes of third parties more effectively, to grab the best Chinese manufacturing engineering and logistics talent (keeping it out of reach from competitors), and for marketing purposes to Chinese consumers. I don't expect this to happen either.
I see no point in a buyback while the stock is flying, and neither Cook nor Oppenheimer look like guys who like to pay top dollar for anything.
So I think the one-time large dividend ($20?) theory is the most plausible, with or without a split to go along with it. If all they were going to announce was an intent to ramp up acquisitions, they would not choose this kind of time or date.
Dividends seem the most obvious answer so how do people think dividends would be distributed?
What do you mean by distributed? They're given quarter by quarter, so if, for example, Apple were to be very generous and give $20 a share per year, we'd get $5 a quarter. I don't know if that answers your question, or if it has nothing to do with it.
I'd like a stock buy back and for Apple to announce plans to split the stock. I'm expecting a dividend and an announcement of how successful this weekend's iPads were.
edit: I withdraw my buyback comment for a time when the stock market is suffering.
5:1 would be sweet ...
I'd much rather they did a stock buyback. I'm not at all in favor of them trying to satisfy Wall Street versus minding their business.
A stock buyback would be satisfying Wall Street. That would be their preference. I think it's a terrible idea, and always has been.