Does Apple need to appease its investors?

by L.A. Times Posted 2013/02/08 15:49:18

Related Topics: Apple, Cash, Image, Discussion, Sued, Images, Last Year, Investor, Technology, SodaHead, Capital, Dividend, Preferred Stock, Stock

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	Yes	205 votes	63%
	No	123 votes	38%

Apple Inc. is considering boosting dividends or buying back more stock in a move that could appease investors who have been stung by the sharp drop in the stock price. The company revealed it is mulling over such actions after an influential shareholder sued the Cupertino, Calf., technology giant Thursday.

In a statement, Apple acknowledged that it had been in "active discussions about returning additional cash to shareholders" beyond the $45 billion in dividends and stock buybacks it announced last year. As part of that review, the company said it would consider a proposal by Greenlight Capital to issue a new type of preferred stock to current shareholders.

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SonofSpermcube 2013/02/12 13:27:11

Yes

They've been overvalued for years, and I suspect that they'd rather have the decline be gradual, so yeah.

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jeepster4 2013/02/12 02:11:43

Yes

With the death of Steve Jobs, we have seen the death of the Cult of Apple. The same thing happened to an earlier Cult of Apple when the Beatles split up. Now Apple Computer has been revealed as just another computer company with lots of serious competition.

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Vongola Primo 2013/02/12 01:41:14

Yes

and they need to come out with something new.... they havent done anything new since the ipad

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Kigan 2013/02/11 22:39:21

Yes

Typically that is part of what a company needs to do. Especially when they are losing ground.

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Warfinge 2013/02/11 15:30:44

Yes

That's what a public company does normally. Cater to stockholders. Apple is a bit past ripe. Tech has caught up and it's time to leap forward or fall. It's no longer worth the premium price for the products. Time to innovate or compete.

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ivegotloveinmypants 2013/02/11 13:15:25 (edited)

Yes

+1
HELL YEAH! Unless they want to see all their investors walk the road to Samsung! If Apple was being managed by a private equity investor, they would jolly well HAVE to divert the cash to the shareholders. But hey, private equity investors are EVIL. :) The company needs to remember that it relies in part on it's shareholders.

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Cal 2013/02/11 12:19:35

Yes

+1
Their fad is dying. They need a new gig.

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FeelHoo... to Cal 2013/02/11 23:59:10

+2
Michael Dell made that same claim back in 1996.

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Cal to FeelHoo... 2013/02/12 00:00:21
FeelHoo... to Cal 2013/02/12 01:51:59
Vis Vires 2013/02/11 03:09:23

No

Why? An investor is simply another word for a gambler. Does Las Vegas appease its losers? Me no think so.

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ivegotl... to Vis Vires 2013/02/11 13:16:07

Me no think so. LOL!

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BarterMan to Vis Vires 2013/02/12 09:23:03

Some people win in Vegas, more people lose. That’s how they build hotels. One of the reasons Las Vegas is successful is because when you come here, you can lose your money and still feel appeased. If Apple fears investors are losing interest in Apple because of perceived creative inadequacies, offering a dividend would be a method to attract new investors. The dividend might also change the minds of some current shareholders, who were about to jump ship.

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exhon2009 2013/02/11 02:02:10

No

Corporations are supposed to maximize shareholder value. If Apple can earn more for investors by putting that cash to work in the business then they should do that. If all they can do is earn 2% in T bills then they should consider returning at least part of it to shareholders in the form of higher dividends.

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seadog6608PWCM 2013/02/11 01:46:31
richard 2013/02/10 23:28:35
Rdtourist 2013/02/10 23:13:52

No

No, but it DOES have an obligation to its shareholder/investors to grant them a profit sfter a reasonable time, Apple is swimming upstream and doing in the face of strong opposition from some of its prinicipals.

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calvin236 2013/02/10 16:52:46

Yes

But i also think that they need to follow their own lead sometimes. I think that right now, Apple is in a position to please it's investors right now, but that is not always the case.

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Sionann 2013/02/10 16:47:53

No

Apple needs to tell them "tough luck". That's how it works when you invest and buy stocks. Get over it cry babies.

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sm237 2013/02/10 16:28:59

Yes

All companies need to please their investors, that is where the money comes from. But that is also one of the reasons that there is so much turmoil in business today.

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Grabitz 2013/02/10 12:00:33

No

What for . Share holders are no more then leaches making money from another persons skills .

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Aleksandr to Grabitz 2013/02/10 12:31:45

+1
idiot!! The shareholders are the ones that provide these "geniuses" with a generous salary.

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Grabitz to Aleksandr 2013/02/10 12:41:04
Aleksandr to Grabitz 2013/02/10 14:42:53

So who cares? In the end I get my dividends and the workers get they're salary besides if they can't handle the demand, then quit.

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Grabitz to Aleksandr 2013/02/10 14:50:15

Quit what ? Because of you investors screaming for more it all went over seas to slave labor . Now your money isn't worth a crap so what did you gain but a bunch of worthless money and a crappy country to live in .

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Immanuelson 2013/02/10 10:24:48

No

apple is dominate anyways either way you look at it.

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burningsnowman 2013/02/10 07:31:03

No

No, what they really need to do is bring down prices more. They've already started doing this but they haven't gone nearly far enough. That said I'm extremely pleased with my Mac right now.

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hatter 2013/02/10 05:47:27

No

+1
I don't give a crap if they die and take their overpriced plastic elsewhere.

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Darr247 2013/02/10 04:08:18

Yes

That would definitely boost the stock price.

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Anna 2013/02/10 03:05:02

No

I don't know anything about it.

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thefatguy 2013/02/10 01:12:17

Yes

+1
Yes, all companies have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders. But, just like the L.A. Slimes which has a duty to report unbiased news to its readers, some companies don't fulfill their duties.

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CorrectOpinion 2013/02/09 23:50:00

No

+1
They should do whatever is in the best interests of Apple. Stock holders are investing in the COMPANY. It isn't gambling. you don't put your money on black and spin the wheel.

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ssmithix 2013/02/09 23:32:31

Yes

Yes

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Sterling 2013/02/09 20:19:20

Yes

Yes and no. Apple needs to do what it has to do to make the company more profitable, and sometimes that will make investors angry short term. Investors need to realize there's a reason they're investing, and not running a company.

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chucky 2013/02/09 17:33:15

Yes

Yes they have been making a few mistakes.

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gary 2013/02/09 15:02:28
intolerantrwj 2013/02/09 14:12:17

Yes

+2
..... whoa .... whoa ..... you mean to tell me that Nobel Prize Winning BoD Member Al Gore has not blessed them with his brilliance + investment prowess and won some sort of Federal Contract that has Solyndra type financing to bolster Apple shares .... huh ...

................. who'da thunk it !

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mark 2013/02/09 08:55:03

No

+1
If investors aren't happy with apple they'd just buy into another company. So sick of companies appeasing to investors rather than the quality of their products and the people who buy them.

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redhorse29 2013/02/09 06:54:25

Yes

+1
Yes and no. Yes Apple has a duty to its investors. At the same time Apple management has a responsibility to the company as a legal entity dependent on the skill and ability of those in leadership positions to keep it alive, healthy and profitable.

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Chitta Brick 2013/02/09 05:15:03

Yes

Yes, because I bought in low (sorta)

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