Boston, MA 02/07/2014 (wallstreetpr) –The effects of below-par results in Q1 seems to be catching up with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), having purchased $14B worth of its stock in two weeks according to Wall street journal which quoted Apple CEO Timothy Cook. Apple saw its shares slump in the market by 8% immediately after posting its Quarterly results on January 28, 2014 something that came as a surprise for Apple Chief. The slump in the market was as a result of Apple posting results that fell below consensus estimates thereby raising lots of concerns in the market.
Causes of Q1 below-par results
The holiday seasons is supposed to be the peak seasons for apple products during which in the past Apple has been able to record bumper harvests in terms of sales. This was not the case this time around as iPhone sales declined more than expected forcing Apple not to attain the consensus estimates.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was forced to forecast weak revenue forecast for the quarter something that did not go well with analysts in the market. A tepid global economy has been tipped as one of the major causes for a slump in revenue for one of the biggest tech companies in the world
The repurchase of shares by Apple
Over the past 12 months, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has purchased more than $40 billion worth of shares which is essentially a record for any company in the market. Tim Cook was quoted by the journal as saying “It means that we are betting on Apple. It means that we are really confident on what we are doing and what we plan to do. We are not just saying that. We are showing that with our actions”
This is not a surprise as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) had previously indicated of plans to purchase up to $60 billion worth of its stock. December only, saw the company return a total of $7.7 billion to its shareholders through dividends and buy backs. This has notably brought its capital return to a total of $43 billion excluding the latest purchases of $14 billion. It is also worth noting that, Apple has been paying of its shareholders dividends a month and a half after the end of each fiscal quarter
According Tim Cook Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) intends to disclose updates of its buyback plan in March or April.
