Apple CEO Tim Cook to meet with investor Carl Icahn in NYC on Monday
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn will meet with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook in New York City on Monday to discuss Icahn potentially adding to his stake in Apple, according to a new report.
Details on the alleged meeting plans were revealed on Thursday by CNBC, which said the two will also "discuss the company's prospects." Icahn is believed to currently hold about $2 billion worth of AAPL stock.
Icahn has publicly pushed for Apple to buy back more shares in itself. Via his official Twitter account, he revealed that he would meet with Cook for dinner sometime in September.
Icahn has said he believes that shares of AAPL are "extremely undervalued" at their current price. His support of the company helped to push Apple past $500 per share last week, though the stock price fell back below that threshold in subsequent weeks.
Apple spent $16 billion last quarter alone on repurchasing 36 million in shares. The original schedule had called for the company to buy 10 million in shares in the third quarter, but Apple apparently decided to push harder and buy at an average share price of $444.44 ? more than $250 off from the company's high of $702.10 reached last September.
Details on the alleged meeting plans were revealed on Thursday by CNBC, which said the two will also "discuss the company's prospects." Icahn is believed to currently hold about $2 billion worth of AAPL stock.
Icahn has publicly pushed for Apple to buy back more shares in itself. Via his official Twitter account, he revealed that he would meet with Cook for dinner sometime in September.
Icahn has said he believes that shares of AAPL are "extremely undervalued" at their current price. His support of the company helped to push Apple past $500 per share last week, though the stock price fell back below that threshold in subsequent weeks.
Apple spent $16 billion last quarter alone on repurchasing 36 million in shares. The original schedule had called for the company to buy 10 million in shares in the third quarter, but Apple apparently decided to push harder and buy at an average share price of $444.44 ? more than $250 off from the company's high of $702.10 reached last September.
Comments
What is meant by "His support of the company..."? Support? How?
This guy looks like he wants to buy all my old gold
So if Apple did buy 36,000,000 shares for $444 they are up over $1.5 Billion at today's stock price.
I wonder if its legal for Apple to day trade their buybacks? Sell at $500 and rebuy when it dips?
I don't think that's the way to think about it when the company buys back its own stock. A company can't own itself, not even partially. They can't use shares they bought back to vote for board proposals that management supports.
When they buy stock back those shares are no longer outstanding and are best thought of as gone forever. Now of course Apple can always sell stock to the public by issuing new shares.
He is 77. Why cant he just take rest and be in home in peace?
I am going to assume its illegal for Tim to give future products info to an investor. The only thing I can see them talk about is return on investment subjects like buybacks and dividends.
Hey! I resent that! It's my nest egg and I have held them since around $30 (although added some more). I never moan and always say don't worry hold tight.
I am going to assume its illegal for Tim to give future products info to an investor. The only thing I can see them talk about is return on investment subjects like buybacks and dividends.
Highly illegal. Cook can not divulge any planned activity that has not already been announced through legal channels.
Since Icahn gave up on Dell, this attention on Apple is very worrisome.
Highly illegal. Cook can not divulge any planned activity that has not already been announced through legal channels.
Since Icahn gave up on Dell, this attention on Apple is very worrisome.
Cook can certainly LISTEN to Icahn's potentially useful thoughts on HOW one might be able to increase buybacks, etc, under the constraints that Apple faces currently (i.e. most money locked away overseas and unavailable for such things). One thing some people don't understand is that Apple is swimming in so much cash, that they could easily fund operations, invest in new technologies and ventures and STILL buyback a healthy fraction of shares over the next decade - but the capital is trapped. I think that that is Tim's goal, and Uncle Carl (as ruthless as he may be) probably actually has some ideas about how to get around the capital trap problem. He certainly doesn't have enough $$$ to pressure Apple into doing anything they don't already want to do, and many AAPL investors (such as myself) wouldn't fall for the tactics he has used in troubled companies in the past, for the simple reason that in the case of AAPL, most of us have faith that things will be fine without resorting to rash actions. (That's where Carl excels, but we won't fall for it.)
I would not expect Tim to give Icahn any ANSWER, such as "OK, Carl, thanks. We will do exactly THAT." Tim won't be kissing Carl's A**.
There is nothing wrong with any of this legally, ethically, or even (from my perspective) philosophically. So for my part, I hope that Tim learns something useful from Carl. And that's the extent of it.
Thompson
Investors are fucking parasites, they do nothing except count money and moan when values dip. **** them all.
Hey A** H***! I resent that! It's my nest egg and I have held them since around $30 (although added some more). I never moan and always say don't worry hold tight.
I really don't think he was referring to small investors like us (okay..some presumption there, but still). He's referring to the big investors like Icahn who feel that because they've invested big in a company also feel that they can tell the company how to run itself because they think they own the company. People like Icahn don't give a damn about the company, its products or its services. Despite the fact that this guy is one of the richest people on the planet and has more money than he could ever possibly spend during the rest of his life, the only thing this guy cares about is return on investment and if he thought he could make more money by breaking Apple up, he would push for that, everything else be damned.
Based on that, investors like him are indeed parasites.
The only legitimate complaint that Icahn might have is that with all of its cash, Apple may not be doing enough investment in either acquisitions or in bringing advances or new product lines to the market fast enough.
One other thing investors do is fund startup companies. For example, Apple might never have gotten off the ground without capital from investors.
I am going to assume its illegal for Tim to give future products info to an investor. The only thing I can see them talk about is return on investment subjects like buybacks and dividends.
Yes, it is quite illegal. Even though he is an investor in Apple, that doesn't give him the right to get non-public information as to what Apple may do in the future [either product information or financial information, such as dividend or share buyback plans, etc], as it pretty much automatically becomes insider-trading for Carl if he makes any trades in AAPL.
Or rather, it should, but the SEC is pretty useless in these cases.
Yes, it is quite illegal. Even though he is an investor in Apple, that doesn't give him the right to get non-public information as to what Apple may do in the future [either product information or financial information, such as dividend or share buyback plans, etc], as it pretty much automatically becomes insider-trading for Carl if he makes any trades in AAPL.
Or rather, it should, but the SEC is pretty useless in these cases.
Cook is not going to give Icahn any non-public information. He's not that dumb. He is interested in hearing Icahn's ideas about HOW Apple could address their capital situation.
Thompson
Cook is not going to give Icahn any non-public information. He's not that dumb. He is interested in hearing Icahn's ideas about HOW Apple could address their capital situation.
I’m picturing Cook and Icahn sitting at a table, Icahn going on about some nonsense or whatever, Cook resting his head on a hand, sleepily staring blankly just over Icahn’s left eyebrow and subconsciously reaching across the table to nick his fries…
I’m picturing Cook and Icahn sitting at a table, Icahn going on about some nonsense or whatever, Cook resting his head on a hand, sleepily staring blankly just over Icahn’s left eyebrow and subconsciously reaching across the table to nick his fries…
That about sums up my impression, although I doubt Cook would fly to New York without some expectation of learning something new and advantageous. So he'll most likely politely engage but not commit to anything. Our Tim is a pretty sharp cookie. They say he can shred you even while being polite.
And he definitely wouldn't nick fries... maybe some fruit chunks or olives.
Thompson
What an image!
Cook is just playing the game folks. Its all a game.
It may all be a game, but Apple's objective includes MORE than just making money. That's why they win without some people even realizing that they are winning. They are playing for a different outcome. Let others win the market share game.
Thompson