Activist investor Carl Icahn has bought a large stake in Apple and says the world’s most valuable company should be doing more to revive its stock price. The often outspoken billionaire, renowned for pouncing on out-of-favour shares, signalled he had Apple in his sights in messages posted on his Twitter account. The posts announced he […]
Activist investor Carl Icahn has bought a large stake in Apple and says the world’s most valuable company should be doing more to revive its stock price.
The often outspoken billionaire, renowned for pouncing on out-of-favour shares, signalled he had Apple in his sights in messages posted on his Twitter account.
The posts announced he had acquired a big but unspecified stake in Apple and that he had just had a “nice conversation” with Apple CEO Tim Cook about his belief that the maker of the iPhone and iPad should be using even more of its $147bn (£95.2bn) cash pile to buy back its own stock as soon as possible.
Just buying a 1% stake in Apple would cost more than $4bn, based on the current price of Apple’s stock.
Carl Icahn announced his interest in Apple on Twitter (see below)
News of Icahn’s investment helped Apple’s market value rise by about $13bn (£8.4bn).
In April, Apple pledged to spend $60bn (£39bn) buying back its stock by the end of 2015 as a way to return some of its cash to shareholders. About $18bn of that has already been completed.
Icahn thinks Apple should be pouring even more money into its stock because he believes the shares are worth more than most investors currently believe, according to his tweets.
Despite a recent upturn that has re-established Apple as the world’s most valuable company, its stock remains 30% below its peak of $705.07 nearly 11 months ago.
The price slump is blamed on the slowdown in growth at Apple as earnings are squeezed by tougher competition in the smartphone and tablet computer markets.
Apple’s shares peaked at more than $700 each last September. In the months that followed they lost more than 40 per cent of their value – in early June they stood below $400 per share.
Technology websites claim leaked information and pictures point to a 10 September launch date for new iPhone models possibly to be called the 5S and 5C.
The 5C could be a lower-end model, intended to allow Apple to expand into the cheaper end of the market.
