“That’s how they get the safe-haven, the gold-standard view from investors,” said Gene Munster, who covered Apple during a 21-year career as an analyst before co-founding venture-capital firm Loup Ventures LLC. “When they just keep showing up and generating the kind of cash they do and buying their own stock back, it sends a strong message and I think they’ll continue to do that as much as they can.
It’s still generating the earnings to replenish its bank account. It was the only megacap to rally in the wake of its results this quarter, and the report kept analysts from dramatically slashing estimates, in contrast to widespread cuts at its peers. Apple accumulated cash for years under co-founder Steve Jobs, and chief executive Tim Cook has been working on ways to better invest the money and return it to shareholders. Apple, which ended last quarter with US$169 billion in cash and marketable securities, aims to have net cash — cash minus debt outstanding — of zero in the future.
In two of the past five years, it has outspent the second-highest repurchaser by at least US$50 billion. It spent almost US$90 billion last year, about equal to the market value of Citigroup Inc.