Apple’s amazing Q1 results and a growing cash pile may mean the company is going to increase share buybacks and dividends in 2015, with some analysts saying the Apple will return over $200 billion to investors. Up until Tuesday’s close, stock had gone up 39 percent in the last 12 months, adding over $177 billion to Apple’s market capitalization, which is almost half the market value of Exxon Mobil Corp. With that much in its cash pile, Apple might increase its capital return program to over $200 billion over three years. Last April, Apple said it would give back more than $130 billion to shareholders by the end of this year. Apple will update its capital return program in April.
Analysts think that Apple will continue to see growth in China and an increase in new customers: “We believe that our thesis on Apple is playing out, that Apple’s ecosystem will drive share gain over original equipment manufacturers focusing on specs,” said Oppenheimer & Co analysts who wrote a note titled “A Juggernaut named Apple.”
