Steve Jobs Wasn't A Fan, But Apple's Record Stock Buyback Is So Massive It Dwarfs Valuations Of Boeing, Starbucks, EBay And 415 Other S&P 500 Companies
Steve Jobs Wasn't A Fan, But Apple's Record Stock Buyback Is So Massive It Dwarfs Valuations Of Boeing, Starbucks, EBay And 415 Other S&P 500 Companies
Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) delivered a sweet surprise to investors on Thursday with its robust shareholder return strategy, propelling its stock sharply higher. The magnitude of the move is so significant that it dwarfs the valuation of some big companies.
蘋果公司（納斯達克股票代碼：AAPL）週四以其強勁的股東回報策略給投資者帶來了驚喜，推動其股價大幅上漲。此舉的規模如此之大，使一些大公司的估值相形見絀。
What Happened: Apple unveiled an expansive buyback program, authorizing the repurchase of an additional $110 billion of its common stock. Furthermore, the company announced a 4.2% increase in dividends to 24 cents per share.
發生了什麼：蘋果公佈了一項大規模的回購計劃，授權再回購1,100億美元的普通股。此外，該公司宣佈將股息增加4.2％，至每股24美分。
To put the magnitude of the buyback into perspective:
透視回購的規模：
- It stands as the largest buyback in U.S. corporate history in terms of value.
- The value eclipsed the market capitalizations of 419, or roughly 84%, of the S&P 500 companies.
- Notably, esteemed blue-chip entities like Boeing, Starbucks, PayPal, Northrop Grumman, Ford, and eBay now boast lower valuations than Apple's latest buyback offering.
- Only 66 out of 195 global nations possess GDPs exceeding $110 billion, according to Worldometer.
- 就價值而言，這是美國公司歷史上最大規模的回購。
- 該價值超過了419家標準普爾500指數公司的市值，約佔84％。
- 值得注意的是，波音、星巴克、PayPal、諾斯羅普·格魯曼公司、福特和eBay等受人尊敬的藍籌股實體現在的估值低於蘋果最新的回購產品。
- 根據Worldometer的數據，在全球195個國家中，只有66個國家的國內生產總值超過1,100億美元。
Why It's Important: As companies grapple with stagnant revenue growth, they increasingly prioritize bolstering shareholder returns to sustain investor interest.
爲何重要：隨着公司努力應對收入增長停滯的問題，他們越來越多地優先考慮提高股東回報以維持投資者的利益。
Notably, U.S. stock repurchases are on track to surpass $1 trillion for the first time this year, driven by significant buybacks from tech giants, as highlighted by global capital markets commentator The Kobeissi Letter.
值得注意的是，正如全球資本市場評論員《科貝西信報》所強調的那樣，在科技巨頭的大量回購的推動下，美國股票回購有望在今年首次超過1萬億美元。
In 2023, buybacks amounted to $795.1 billion, a slight decline from $922.7 billion in 2022, according to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices. However, fourth-quarter buybacks surged by 18% quarter-over-quarter to $219.1 billion, with the top 20 S&P 500 companies accounting for over half of the total.
標普道瓊斯指數的數據顯示，2023年，回購額爲7951億美元，較2022年的9227億美元略有下降。但是，第四季度的回購量同比激增18％，達到2191億美元，其中標普500指數前20家公司佔總回購量的一半以上。
The Information Technology sector led the pack in buybacks, with its fourth-quarter expenditure climbing 15.9% to $56.3 billion, constituting 25.7% of all S&P 500 buybacks. Unsurprisingly, Apple spearheaded the buyback spree, spending $22.7 billion during the quarter.
信息技術板塊在回購方面處於領先地位，其第四季度支出增長了15.9％，達到563億美元，佔標準普爾500指數所有回購的25.7％。毫不奇怪，蘋果率先進行了回購，在本季度花費了227億美元。
Interestingly, Apple's former CEO and co-founder, Steve Jobs was not a big fan of shareholder returns. When a shareholder questioned him about this aversion in 2010, he reportedly said, "We know if we need to acquire something — a piece of the puzzle to make something big and bold — we can write a check for it and not borrow a lot of money and put our whole company at risk," Jobs said. "The cash in the bank gives us tremendous security and flexibility."
有趣的是，蘋果前首席執行官兼聯合創始人史蒂夫·喬布斯並不是股東回報的忠實擁護者。據報道，當一位股東在2010年向他詢問這種厭惡情緒時，他說：“我們知道如果我們需要收購一些東西——想做一個大膽的東西——我們可以爲它開一張支票，而不是借很多錢，讓整個公司處於危險之中，” 喬布斯說。“銀行中的現金爲我們提供了極大的安全性和靈活性。”
Ginormous Piggy Bank: Apple's substantial cash reserves, amounting to $162.34 billion by the end of the second quarter. Jobs' thinking aligns with the growth-oriented philosophy prevalent in the tech sector. Instead of dividends or buybacks, growth companies prefer reinvesting profits in promising projects to drive stock appreciation.
巨額存錢罐：蘋果的大量現金儲備，截至第二季度末達到1623.4億美元。喬布斯的思維與科技領域普遍存在的以增長爲導向的理念一致。與其分紅或回購，成長型公司更願意將利潤再投資於有前景的項目，以推動股票升值。
Following Thursday's buyback revelation, some social media users criticized CEO Tim Cook for prioritizing stock performance over visionary product launches.
在週四的回購披露之後，一些社交媒體用戶批評首席執行官蒂姆·庫克將股票表現置於富有遠見的產品發佈之上。
Price Action: In premarket trading, Apple shares surged by 5.77% to $183.02, according to Benzinga Pro data.
價格走勢：根據Benzinga Pro的數據，在盤前交易中，蘋果股價上漲了5.77％，至183.02美元。
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譯文內容由第三人軟體翻譯。