Apple's $50 billion increase in its share buyback program is a sign it is hitting middle age. The company is slowing down a bit. But the $380 billion Apple still has plenty of spring in its step. And its absurd level of financial comfort means it can give much more back to investors.
Apple's 11 per cent revenue growth in the quarter to March from a year earlier was well short of its previous breakneck pace. And the company's gross margin slipped to 37.5 per cent and may fall further - enviable for most companies, but not up to Apple's innovative best. The company blamed factors ranging from increased sales of lower-margin iPads to changes in service policies in China.
Perhaps more telling is that the average selling price of an iPhone dropped by $20. Apple's ability to inspire fans to pay luxurious prices for its latest goods has weakened - or perhaps with such huge scale it now has to tap less affluent customers.
A degree of aging also means financial security and a plan for the firm's cash pile, which has reached an astonishing $145 billion. That's far more than Apple needs, especially since to date at least it has wisely refrained from big acquisitions. The company is more than doubling the amount destined for shareholders' pockets to $100 billion by the end of 2015.
That will make Apple the largest dividend payer in the world, according to the compilers of the S&P 500 Index. And the company has upped its planned share repurchases to $60 billion from $10 billion - a sensible move while the stock looks undervalued on several metrics. David Einhorn, the vocal hedge fund manager, might prefer payouts structured his way. But other shareholders could justifiably conclude Apple is transitioning to maturity, not a mid-life crisis.
Apple's 11 per cent revenue growth in the quarter to March from a year earlier was well short of its previous breakneck pace. And the company's gross margin slipped to 37.5 per cent and may fall further - enviable for most companies, but not up to Apple's innovative best. The company blamed factors ranging from increased sales of lower-margin iPads to changes in service policies in China.
Perhaps more telling is that the average selling price of an iPhone dropped by $20. Apple's ability to inspire fans to pay luxurious prices for its latest goods has weakened - or perhaps with such huge scale it now has to tap less affluent customers.
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But Apple isn't yet 40 and it's too early to talk of decline, let alone decrepitude. Rivals such as Samsung are capturing a larger chunk of the expanding global market. But Apple's sales of smartphones are still rising, and tablets are booming with 65 per cent more iPads sold in the recent quarter than a year earlier. Moreover, Chief Executive Tim Cook promises new products in the fall. Apple might even beat the odds by introducing another device that creates a whole category.
A degree of aging also means financial security and a plan for the firm's cash pile, which has reached an astonishing $145 billion. That's far more than Apple needs, especially since to date at least it has wisely refrained from big acquisitions. The company is more than doubling the amount destined for shareholders' pockets to $100 billion by the end of 2015.
That will make Apple the largest dividend payer in the world, according to the compilers of the S&P 500 Index. And the company has upped its planned share repurchases to $60 billion from $10 billion - a sensible move while the stock looks undervalued on several metrics. David Einhorn, the vocal hedge fund manager, might prefer payouts structured his way. But other shareholders could justifiably conclude Apple is transitioning to maturity, not a mid-life crisis.