Apple® today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a
significant increase to the Company’s program to return capital to
shareholders. The Company expects to utilize a total of $100 billion of
cash under the expanded program by the end of calendar 2015. This
represents a $55 billion increase to the program announced last year and
translates to an average rate of $30 billion per year from the time of
the first dividend payment in August 2012 through December 2015.
As part of this program, the Board has increased its share repurchase
authorization to $60 billion from the $10 billion level announced last
year. This is the largest single share repurchase authorization in
history and is expected to be executed by the end of calendar 2015.
Apple also expects to utilize about $1 billion annually to
net-share-settle vesting restricted stock units.
Additionally, the Board has approved a 15% increase in the Company’s
quarterly dividend and today has declared a dividend of $3.05 per common
share, payable on May 16, 2013 to shareholders of record as of the close
of business on May 13, 2013. Apple is among the largest dividend payers
in the world, with annual payments of about $11 billion.
In conjunction with the expanded return of capital program, the Company
plans to borrow and expects to announce more details about this in the
near future.
The management team and Board of Directors will continue to review each
element of the capital return program on an annual basis.
“We are very fortunate to be in a position to more than double the size
of the capital return program we announced last year,” said Tim Cook,
Apple’s CEO. “We believe so strongly that repurchasing our shares
represents an attractive use of our capital that we have dedicated the
vast majority of the increase in our capital return program to share
repurchases.”
“We will continue to return capital to shareholders through dividends,
share repurchases, and cash used to net-share-settle vesting RSUs,” said
Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “We continue to generate cash in excess
of our needs to operate the business, invest in our future, and maintain
flexibility to take advantage of strategic opportunities.”
This press release contains forward-looking statements including without
limitation those regarding future business outlook and plans for
dividends, share repurchases, and borrowing. These statements involve
risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and
uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive and
economic factors, and the Company’s reaction to those factors, on
consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the Company’s
products; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the
ability of the Company to deliver to the marketplace and stimulate
customer demand for new programs, products, and technological
innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product introductions and
transitions, changes in product pricing or mix, and/or increases in
component costs could have on the Company’s gross margin; the inventory
risk associated with the Company’s need to order or commit to order
product components in advance of customer orders; the continued
availability on acceptable terms, or at all, of certain components and
services essential to the Company’s business currently obtained by the
Company from sole or limited sources; the effect that the Company’s
dependency on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third
parties may have on the quality, quantity or cost of products
manufactured or services rendered; risks associated with the Company’s
international operations; the Company’s reliance on third-party
intellectual property and digital content; the potential impact of a
finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property
rights of others; the Company’s dependency on the performance of
distributors, carriers and other resellers of the Company’s products;
the effect that product and service quality problems could have on the
Company’s sales and operating profits; the continued service and
availability of key executives and employees; war, terrorism, public
health issues, natural disasters, and other circumstances that could
disrupt supply, delivery, or demand of products; and unfavorable results
of other legal proceedings. More information on potential factors that
could affect the Company’s financial results is included from time to
time in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s
public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company’s Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended September 29, 2012, its Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended December 29, 2012, and its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March
30, 2013 to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to
update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of
their respective dates.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with
OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital
music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has
reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store,
and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with
iPad.
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© 2013 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac
OS and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product
names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
