Einhorn to Apple: No Hard Feelings Over That “Depression-Era Grandmother” Comment, Okay?
Apple’s new capital allocation plan isn’t quite what Greenlight Capital founder and famous Apple bull David Einhorn was looking for earlier this year when he called for the company to abandon its Depression-era grandmother mentality about its cash hoard. Certainly, it’s not even close to the perpetual preferred iPrefs he proposed. But Einhorn is plenty happy with Apple’s decision to raise its dividend by 15 percent and significantly increase its stock buyback program.
“We applaud Apple’s decision to borrow money and return excess capital to shareholders, an idea that was off the table only months ago,” Einhorn told AllThingsD. “This positive development represents a more shareholder-friendly capital allocation policy and demonstrates the conviction of Apple’s management and board in the Company’s future.”
Positive development, indeed. As Moody’s noted this morning, Apple, at $11.1 billion, will be the largest U.S. non-financial dividend payer in 2013, ahead of Exxon and AT&T.