Tim Cook

For the first time in nearly 17 years, Apple Inc. announced a dividend payment roll out today. The company launched a $10-billion share buyback scheme, as well. It looks like they finally buckled under the pressure to do something for their shareholders!

According to CEO, Tim Cook, the dividend roll out will begin with a quarterly dividend of $2,65 per share in the fourth quarter of this year, while the buyback stretches over three years.

Here’s the rest of Cook’s statement:

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. 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.

[Source: The Globe and Mail]