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If the company (and the industry) is maturing, then buybacks and dividends are indeed a sign of confidence.
by mypastself 3y ago
If the company (and the industry) is maturing, then buybacks and dividends are indeed a sign of confidence.
- diggan 3y agoConfidence and maturation, or stagnation? I can see good arguments being made for both directions.
- ozborn 3y agoDividends are taxed directly and generally aren't tied to CEO compensation, unlike buybacks. Buybacks are more a sign of management incentive structure.
- mypastself 3y agoThe filing references dividends in addition to buybacks, stating that their ratio to R&D indicates anti-competitive behavior.
- phil21 3y agoBuybacks are a tax dodge. Nothing else. Dividends are the proper way to pay out excess cash the enterprise generates. Society decided how much to tax such distributions, and a certain class of people didn't like paying even that laughably small share. Buybacks were justified by a whole lot of things that simply are outright lies. Take away the tax benefit and you'd see them go away overnight.
- mypastself 3y agoDiscussions on the morality of buybacks are unrelated to the question of whether or not Apple’s ratio of R&D to buybacks (and dividends, which are also referenced in the filing) indicates lack of confidence in the company’s prospects.