The article I linked to is just about how Apple took a bit of money they found in the couch cushions ($14b of their $196b in cash reserves), and are going to give some to shareholders and buy back some stock.
Pretty generic tech finance story, and there isn't anything particularly notable, other than the huge sums.
But I had a friend who was in Apple Legal for a couple decades, and she worked on the acquisitions size of the business, which engaged in a LOT of financial stuff.
The story of Apple that was published every single month for about 30 years, has been the "imminent demise of Apple" and how (insert latest product name) is a clear demonstration how Apple has lost the plot, and that XYZ company is lining up to acquire Apple.
These stories were so common, and so sure that Apple was ALWAYS on the brink of disaster ... for 30 years.
The thing all of these articles failed to take into account, was that Apple has always had the policy of holding enormous amounts of cash. Not investments. Not stock. Just pure cash, sitting in a bank account.
Often that amount exceeded the valuation of the company by at least 2x.
So if someone wanted to acquire Apple, they would have to pay whatever agreed-upon price for the technology and business... but then also have to pay 1:1 for every dollar Apple had in the bank! So a 3x valuation.
And that just wasn't ever going to happen.
I also find it interesting that Apple has maintained this basic business principle throughout their entire life span... through different CEOs... market changes, etc. The strength of this position is subtle and undeniable when trying to protect your ecosystem and market.
The article isn't about Apple using $14b of its $196b in cash reserves to buy back stock. The article is about Apple borrowing money to buy back stock. They aren't touching that $196b. They're retiring short-term bonds with long-term bonds. The velocity of money is at like fuckall. Some pundits have likened this to the speed of air underneath the economy's wings. Air slows down, plane stalls. Apple is probably doing a stock buyback now, with borrowed money no less, because the shit might be about to hit the fan. (Apr 2020)The pandemic has changed the buyback discussion for every public company. Using Apple as an example, it’s not that the company’s intrinsic value, which reflects Apple’s cash flow generating capability in the future, has changed because of economic fallout related to the pandemic. Instead, market dislocations in credit markets have led to a renewed focus on liquidity and balance sheet preservation.