Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) repurchased its own shares worth $14 billion since the company reported its quarterly financial results on January 27 that disappointed some Wall Street analysts and investors.
Cook surprised by stock decline
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) said he was surprised by the negative reaction of the market towards the stock. He also said that he wanted to be “aggressive and opportunistic.”
The stock price of the iPhone and iPad maker tumbled nearly 9% after hours that day or 8% to $506.50 the following day, January 28. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported higher earnings and revenue of $14.50 and $57.6 billion, respectively during the quarter. Its iPhone sales also increased from 47.8 million to 51 million units. Investors were spooked by the company’s guidance for the current quarter that its lower than expected.
Apple confident with its strategy
With regard to the latest shares buy back executed by Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Cook said, that they are betting on the company and they confident on their strategy.
According to him, “It means that we are betting on Apple. It means that we are really confident on what we are doing and what we plan to do. We’re not just saying that. We’re showing that with our actions.”
Cook emphasized that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) already repurchased more than $40 billion of its own shares over the past 12 months, which believed a record for any company over a similar period.
According to him, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) repurchased $12 billion of its own shares through an accelerated repurchase program, and the additional $2 billion shares were bought from the open market. The company’s latest stock buy back was part of its previously announced $60 billion repurchase program. The company plans to disclose updates to its buyback program next month or in April.
In addition, Cook said his objective is for the company to “be able to adjust for the long-term interest of the shareholders, not for the short-term shareholder, not for the day trader. We may see a huge company tomorrow that we want to acquire or something may happen in the stock market that’s unpredictable,”
Icahn’s reaction
Activist investor, Carl Icahn commented that he is also confident with Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), and encouraged Cook to repurchase more shares. His message posted on Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) reads, “Keep buying Tim!” Icahn is pushing for a $50 billion stock buy back by September this year.
