Apple Corporate

Apple boosts stock buyback, ups dividend 15 percent

Apple boosted its stock buyback and approved a 15 percent increase in its quarterly dividend.

With some $145 billion now in Apple's coffers, investors have clamored for management to return more cash to shareholders. Now the company is responding -- big time. Apple said Tuesday afternoon that it intends to use "a total of $100 billion of cash under the expanded program."

As part of the program, Apple increased its share repurchase authorization to $60 billion, up from $10 billion announced last year. The company said it was the largest single share-repurchase authorization in Apple's history. … Read more

Analysts highlight bright spots ahead of Apple's Q2 report

Apple's fiscal second-quarter results aren't expected to be particularly cheerful, but some analysts are still finding reasons to be bullish.

The Cupertino, Calif., company will report its January-March quarter results on Tuesday, and no one is expecting a blowout. The company could make history with its biggest second-quarter sales yet, but it's also expected to post its first decline in profit in a decade.

Despite worries about Apple's recent performance, BGC boosted its rating on Apple's stock to "buy" from "hold," saying investors should take advantage of the recent weakness to … Read more

Apple earnings could bring profit setback, despite record sales

Apple could make history tomorrow with its biggest second-quarter sales yet, though it's also expected to log its first decline in profit in 10 years.

That's what analysts anticipate in Tuesday's second-quarter earnings report, which will spell out the company's performance through the end of March.

Wall Street is expecting Apple to post earnings of $10.12 per share on sales of $42.6 billion, based on a poll of 48 analysts from Thomson First Call. That's down from earnings of $12.30 per share, and up from the $39.2 billion in sales from … Read more

Citi goes sour on Apple, claims iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 delay

The expected iPhone 5S will see an extended delay in delivery, while iPad Mini demand is softening, according to a research note from Citigroup Capital Markets. The note also claimed a Retina MacBook Air is coming.

"We have previously written that iPhone5S, despite an accelerated design phase, was modestly delayed from June to July," wrote Citi's Glen Yeung in a research note Sunday. "With input from Citi's Taiwan-based technology research team...we now believe that a further 1- to 2-month delay (from July to August or September) is possible, likely stemming from volume production issues.&… Read more

AMD nabs Apple graphics chip designer

Advanced Micro Devices will soon announce it has hired a former Apple graphics chip designer to bolster its engineering leadership bench as it turns itself around, CNET has learned.

Raja Koduri, who most recently served as director of graphics architecture for Apple, will be rejoining AMD four years after leaving that company, people familiar with the hire told CNET. He will be taking on a role in AMD's graphics business, though it wasn't immediately clear to CNET what his title would be. AMD is expected to make the announcement next week.

The move is the latest in a … Read more

Penguin reaches pact with EU to end e-book price-fixing probe

Penguin has vowed to change its pricing strategy for digital books, including terminating an e-book pricing pact with Apple, to resolve an antitrust probe by the European Union.

As part of the deal, Penguin has agreed to terminate existing agency agreements -- those pacts that allow a publisher, not a retailer, to set prices -- and will refrain from adopting "most favored nation" pricing clauses for five years. Those had prevented retailers such as Amazon from undercutting Apple's e-book prices.

If Penguin does enter into new agency agreements, retailers would be free to set the retail price … Read more

Apple sets earnings call for Tuesday

The hard numbers on Apple's fiscal second quarter will come out first on Tuesday. But for further details, Apple watchers will want the lowdown from the company's conference call.

Apple said Friday morning that it will host its conference call for the press at 2 p.m. PT on Tuesday, April 23, a little less than an hour after the earnings press release hits the wires. There will be an accompanying live Webcast at that time.

In January, for its first fiscal quarter, Apple reported record revenue, but earnings fell short of analysts' expectations.

Earnings reports from Apple … Read more

Apple tries to patent tech behind iTunes U

The technology behind Apple's iTunes U, a repository of educational information for students and teachers, has been outed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

According to Patently Apple, which first to discover the patent application on Thursday, Apple filed for a patent on the technology that powers iTunes U. Interestingly, the technology in the patent application is called Virtual University, but Apple ostensibly decided it wasn't the right name for its service.

So, what does Apple's application describe? The application describes a method by which instruction information is displayed within a graphical user interface. The … Read more

Apple stock dips below $400 before rebound

Apple's shares finally sagged below the $400 point.

Just before 10 a.m. PT today, the stock dipped below that round number, if only momentarily, crossing a threshold that seemed unlikely when it was high and mighty at more than $700 a share last September. That registered as the day's low of at $398.11, though the stock quickly rebounded to around the $403 mark.

Apple's shares closed the day at $402.80, a drop of 5.5 percent from the previous day's close.

Some Wall Street analysts put the blame on a disappointing quarterly forecast … Read more