STOCKS | Tim Cook’s $878.5 Billion Buyback Helped Reshape Apple

According to Sina Finance, author Sean Williams said Tim Cook’s biggest legacy at Apple was leading a buyback program that permanently changed the company’s fate. Apple has spent about $878.5 billion on share repurchases since fiscal 2013, and its shares outstanding have fallen 44.5% under Cook. The article said Cook’s tenure at Apple lasted about 15 years, during which Apple’s stock, including dividends, rose about 2,720% and outperformed the S&P 500 by nearly 2,000 percentage points. It also said Apple remained the world’s most valuable listed company for many years. The piece noted that Apple’s annual buyback pace increased sharply after U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017, which cut the top U.S. corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%.