MacDailyNews presents live notes from Apple’s ‘cash balance’ Conference Call

MacDailyNews presents live notes from Apple’s ‘cash balance’ Conference Call with analysts starting at 6am PDT/9am EDT on Monday, March 19, 2012.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, and Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, will host a conference call to announce the outcome of the Company’s discussions concerning its cash balance. Apple® will not be providing an update on the current quarter nor will any topics be discussed other than cash.

Live notes from Apple’s ‘cash balance’ Conference Call in reverse chronological order:

• End of conference call. Replay available here: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/call31912

• Oppy: 17.7 million RSUs outstanding as of end of last quarter
• Cook: We think this mix of programs is great all around: For Apple employees and for Apple shareholders.

• Cook: We have preserved a war chest of domestic cash. We felt it the right action to provide a dividend and in the best interest of Apple and its shareholders
• In order to bring offshore cash back to the United States, Apple would have to pay hefty repatriation taxes (30+ %)
• Cook: Becuase of tax repatriating consequences, Apple focused on the domestic (US) cash. The first and foremost use of cash is to make the best products in the world

• Oppy: Apple will be one of the largest dividend payers in the United States.

• Oppy: The dividend and buyback programs Apple is annnouncing today are very significant
• Oppy: We will continue to review our dividend and buyback programs in an ongoing manner
• Oppy: We remain very. very confident in the products we have aand the products we have in the pipeline.

• Cook on iPad: “We had a record weekend and we are thrilled with it.” But this call is not to discuss that.

• Cook: We did look at stock splits. “There’s very little support that it helps the stock.” Hoever, we are in a unique posiution and we continue to lokk at it.

• U.S. tax rates currently prohibitive to repatrioting Apple Inc.’s international cash
• Oppy: We have plenty of U.S. cash to execute the dividends, buybacks, and invest in the business
• Estimated $100 billion in cash outside the U.S. by end of year

• Bulk of Apple’s cash lies offshore due to high cost of U.S. tax repatriation
• Oppy: We expect our dividend program to be attractive to curent and prospective shareholders.
• In total, Apple anticpiates using approximately $45 billion of domestic cash during the first three years of the program.

• At Tim Cook’s request, none of his unvested Apple Inc. RSUs will participate in the dividend

• Oppy: We want to reward our longterm shareholders and neutralize impact of dilution from future employee equity grants and employee stock purchase programs

• $10 billion share repurchase program commencing in Apple’s fiscal 2013, which begins on September 30, 2012
• Apple initiates quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share to start sometime in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2012, which begins on July 1, 2012

• Innovation is and will remain Apple’s top priority
• We will continue to invest in our business
• We are going to initiate a dividend and share repurchase program.

• Cook: “We don’t see ceilings on our opportunities.”
• Mac has outgorwn PC market for 23 consecutive quarters. Tremendous opportuitity
• Cook: Tablet market will be larger than PC market. Matter of when, not if. iPad is huge opportunity.
• Tim Cook: Apple is very confident in the future. “Evenutally all handsets will be smartphones.” iPhone has amazing opportunities.

• Call begins…

• AAPL Pre-Market: Up $3.43, or 0.59%, to $589.00 @ 8:58AM EDT

• Domestic cash. – MDN Ed.

• Apple today announced plans to initiate a dividend and share repurchase program commencing later this year.

Subject to declaration by the Board of Directors, the Company plans to initiate a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share sometime in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2012, which begins on July 1, 2012.

Additionally, the Company’s Board of Directors has authorized a $10 billion share repurchase program commencing in the Company’s fiscal 2013, which begins on September 30, 2012. The repurchase program is expected to be executed over three years, with the primary objective of neutralizing the impact of dilution from future employee equity grants and employee stock purchase programs.

“We have used some of our cash to make great investments in our business through increased research and development, acquisitions, new retail store openings, strategic prepayments and capital expenditures in our supply chain, and building out our infrastructure. You’ll see more of all of these in the future,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in the press release. “Even with these investments, we can maintain a war chest for strategic opportunities and have plenty of cash to run our business. So we are going to initiate a dividend and share repurchase program.”

“Combining dividends, share repurchases, and cash used to net-share-settle vesting RSUs, we anticipate utilizing approximately $45 billion of domestic cash in the first three years of our programs,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, in the press release. “We are extremely confident in our future and see tremendous opportunities ahead.”

Apple will provide live streaming of a conference call to discuss its plans beginning at 6:00 a.m. PDT on Monday, March 19, 2012 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/call31912. The Company will not be providing an update on the current quarter nor will any topics be discussed other than cash. This webcast will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.

Soucre: Apple Inc.

• AAPL Pre-Market: Up $14.28, or 2.44% to $599.85 @ 8:17am EDT
• Call begins at 6am PDT/9am EDT on Monday, March 19, 2012