Apple is increasing its share repurchase authorization to $60 billion from $10 billion. This is the largest single share repurchase authorization in history and is expected to be executed by the end of calendar 2015.
Tim Cook (CEO, Apple): We are very fortunate to be in a position to more than double the size of the capital return program we announced last year. 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.
Apple’s board has authorized a significant increase to the company’s program to return capital to shareholders, says the company. Apple 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, 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.
Apple is also increasing the company’s quarterly dividend by 15 per cent, and 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 also expects to utilize about $1 billion annually to net-share-settle vesting restricted stock units.
[Image courtesy: Apple]
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