Apple Shareholders Meeting

The line for the second overflow room

Although I arrived at 9:30 for the 10 a.m. meeting, I couldn't get into the main hall for the Apple shareholders meeting. We were bused to the second overflow room, where Tim Cook et al. appeared on the big screen. The audio and video were actually better than watching them live at a distance, which I did in 2010.

With the mail-in and online proxies already having decided the business issues by overwhelming majorities, we sped through the agenda until we got to the #1 issue in the mind of most investors: was Apple going to pay a dividend? (Interestingly, the issue was raised by the first questioner, who pleaded with Mr. Cook not to pay a dividend and focus on rationalizing the video streaming business.) There was no new news: Tim reiterated that the Board is considering the matter "deeply" and that Apple will make this and other decisions "in the best interests of the shareholders."

After reminding us that Apple has spent billions on its supply chain, Apple stores, and corporate acquisitions, he gave a very strong signal that some form of equity distribution (or buyback) will occur this year: Apple has more cash than it needs "to run the company."

There were moments of levity:

Concerning the change to majority-vote election of the directors, TC remarked that even that system is not perfect, as Director Al Gore knows.

One shareholder said that he bought a large flat-panel TV for the Super Bowl and had another month to return it. Should he do so? Everyone laughed about the allusion to the rumored iTV, but TC remained tight-lipped, saying that the shareholder should buy the $99 Apple TV add-on to enhance the viewing experience on his flat-panel.

The same wit said that he was tired of Greece being in the news and that Apple should use its cash hoard to "buy Greece." TC congratulated him on coming up with a use that Apple had not thought of.

No one spoiled the party by bringing up working conditions in China.

In response to a question about funding scholarships, TC talked about the many ways that Apple is supporting education: through matching donations (up to $10,000 per employee, who channel a large amount to educational institutions), discounts and giveaways to schools and students, summer internships, and free software. He encouraged everyone to try the new iBooks app, particularly the new iBooks Author which makes it easy to put together an electronic publication.

The meeting was over in an hour. Next year I probably won't bother to go, especially since Apple doesn't give out free stuff like Google. But that's okay, I'd rather have a $500 billion market cap plus a good chance at a dividend.