Citigroup analyst Jim Suva predicts that Apple might soon announce a huge stock buyback worth up to $90 billion and would raise its dividend by 5% to 10%. Since Q2, 2020, Apple has recorded a streak of successful quarters with record earnings and Year-on-Year growth. The company’s success is accredited to releasing new innovative products and services, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Q3, 2020 – $59.7 billion in quarterly revenue with 11% Y-o-Y growth and quarterly earnings per diluted share (EPS) of $2.58 had grown by 18 percent.
- Q4, 2020 – $64.7 billion revenue with 41% Y-o-Y growth.
- Q1, 2021 – $111.4 billion revenue with 21% Y-o-Y growth and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.68, which were also up by 35 percent.
- Q2, 2021 – $89.6 billion revenue with 54% Year-over-Year growth.
- Q3, 2021 – $81.4 billion in revenue with 36% Y-o-Y growth and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.30.
- Q4, 2021 – $83.4 billion revenue with 29% Y-o-Y growth and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.24.
- Q1, 2022 – $123.9 billion with an 11% Year-on-Year growth and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.10.
Apple has more than $200 billion on its balance sheet to buy back stock this year
As reported by Bloomberg, the analyst said that the Cupertino tech giant is authorized to buy up to $315 billion worth of stock and currently, the company has more than $200 billion on its balance sheet.
While Apple’s repurchases have totaled $274.5 billion, $20.4 billion was just from the December quarter. There’s a lot more to be done as the Cupertino company has over $200 billion on its balance sheet and is authorized to purchase up to $315 billion of stock.
Other tech companies like Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft also have a slew of excess cash to spend as well. Despite the 14% drop of the Nasdaq 100 index, Apple has done well, only falling 6.7%.
At the start of 2022, AAPL’s price hit $182.55 per share which earned Apple a $3 trillion market cap and a new milestone. However, the weak demand for the newly launched iPhone SE 2022 and news of production cuts for the new budget phone, declined AAPL’s share price and at the time of writing, it is trading at $167.66 per share. Apple is scheduled to publish the Q2, 2022 earnings report on April 28.
via 9to5Mac
