Analysts at Bank of America Securities said in a note earlier this month that capital returns are a "focus" of Thursday's report. They expect $90 billion in authorization, and Barclays analysts anticipate the same figure.
Net cash neutral — a phrase that Apple finance chief Luca Maestri uses when asked about buybacks — refers to a point at which a company's cash pile is about equal to its debt. At that time, the board could decide to slow the pace of its capital return. it now has $165 billion in cash and $111 billion in debt for $54 billion in net cash, its lowest position in years.Apple hasn't given formal guidance since the start of the pandemic in 2020, citing uncertainty. But management has consistently given data points to investors about individual product lines and the company's overall sales.
Samik Chatterjee, an analyst at JPMorgan, said even if the outlook is soft, Apple might benefit from "flight to safety" positioning.