NEW YORK\u2014Apple has reportedly repurchased $14 billion of its stock in the two weeks after its first-quarter financial results and second-quarter revenue outlook disappointed investors.<\/p>\n
Its shares rose almost 2 per cent in premarket trading Friday.<\/p>\n
Late Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook said that the company was \u201csurprised\u201d when its stock dropped 8 per cent the day after its earnings report and revenue outlook. He told the newspaper he wanted to be \u201caggressive\u201d and \u201copportunistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
An Apple representative didn\u2019t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.<\/p>\n
Apple has grown accustomed to being a leader in the technology sector. In the Steve Jobs era, consumers and investors alike eagerly awaited each new product announcement and have been rewarded as devices like the iPhone and iPad won accolades for innovation and pushing technology forward.<\/p>\n
But with each new innovation over the years, there have been increasingly higher expectations for the future. So when Apple\u2019s first-quarter iPad and iPhone sales were not as big as expected by investors, and its second-quarter revenue forecast fell short of Wall Street\u2019s view, the stock got dinged.<\/p>\n
In past year Apple\u2019s shares have started losing some ground due to concerns about slowing growth and increasing competition.<\/p>\n
And with the smartphone market becoming inundated with options, Apple may be hard pressed to lift its stock back to where it stood at its peak price of more than $700 in September 2012. That was before investors began to fret about fiercer competition in mobile devices and Apple\u2019s lack of a breakthrough product since the iPad came out nearly four years ago.<\/p>\n
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But Apple isn\u2019t sitting idle. Its reported stock buybacks signals the company remains confident in its business.<\/p>\n