Apple Corporate

Apple may up dividend by more than 50 percent, say analysts

Apple will likely tap into its hefty hoard of cash to fund a dividend increase of more than 50 percent, according to a consensus of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

A quarterly dividend rise of 56 percent would cost Apple $4.14 per share, or $15.7 billion a year. That seems like a lot of money to most companies. But Apple is sitting on cash of $100 billion and has been under pressure to return some of that money to its shareholders.

Greenlight Capital's David Einhorn, a major Apple investor, has criticized the company for not sharing its … Read more

Apple answers Galaxy S4 launch with new iPhone campaign

Samsung's just-launched Galaxy S4 is nothing special -- it's simply another member of the wannabe-iPhone crowd. At least that's what Apple would have you believe by way of a new marketing effort for its storied handset.

"There's iPhone. And then there's everything else." reads the headline on a Web page added to Apple's site today -- two days after Samsung trotted out the S4 during a splashy (and, to some, rather puzzling) event at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

The Apple Web page -- reachable by way of a button … Read more

Apple shareholders to Samsung: Thank you

Samsung's newest smartphone, the Galaxy S4 -- evolutionary or revolutionary? Given the hype leading up to yesterday evening's product debut, that debate likely will rage for days, if not weeks.

But the news is a boon for shares of Apple as jittery investors finally saw reason to hit the "buy" button. At the close of today's trading, Apple's stock was up 2.58 percent to $443.66 -- and this on a day when the overall stock market has been trading in the red.

In the lead-up to the Galaxy S4 announcement, there had … Read more

Former Apple retail chief: 'I just didn't fit'

Apple's former retail chief apparently harbors few hard feelings about his previous employer, and says his brief stint at the company was "probably the best thing" that happened to him.

"Apple is a truly fantastic business. The people are great. They've got great products. It's got a great culture. And I loved working there -- it's a fantastic business," John Browett said during an on-stage interview at the Retail Week Live conference earlier this week.

"The issue there was that I just didn't fit within the way they ran the … Read more

Galaxy S4 vs. iPhone: Morning-after analyst take

Samsung made its latest play in the smartphone battle versus Apple with yesterday's launch of the Galaxy S4, and analysts are weighing in.

Samsung unveiled its newest device during an event in New York's Radio City Music Hall. The phone looks very similar to the Galaxy S3 but sports an improved screen, camera, and components, as well as oodles of quirky software features like language translation. As CNET noted yesterday, Samsung is making Apple's iPhone look like yesterday's hot smartphone.

Many Apple analysts today, though, remain confident that Apple will be able to maintain its strong … Read more

Spin control: Apple goes on offense against Android

If he were the marketing chief for any company other than Apple, people would rightly figure that Phil Schiller's public bashing of Android was just part of the job description. And yes, there's that. But context is everything and Schiller's recent media offensive is part of a much bigger story with higher-than-normal stakes.

Schiller started the trash talking last week with a random tweet urging people to "Be safe out there" with a link to a report from F-Secure focusing on Android mobile security threats.

Then, on the eve of Samsung's Galaxy S4 announcement, … Read more

Apple marketing chief slams Android in interview

Just a day before Samsung is expected to roll out its next flagship smartphone running Google's Android, Apple's marketing chief is starting a spin cycle.

In a brief interview with the Wall Street Journal this afternoon, Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller slammed Google's smartphone platform, calling it fragmented, difficult to use, and suggesting that phones running Android are typically given out as free, entry-level devices by carriers.

"When you take an Android device out of the box, you have to sign up to nine accounts with different vendors to get the experience iOS comes with,&… Read more

Apple CEO will testify in e-books case, judge says

Apple CEO Tim Cook will testify as part of the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust case against Apple, a judge ruled today.

Cook, who became Apple's CEO in August 2011, will be required to engage in four hours of testimony per a ruling by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan today, Reuters reports.

Apple had attempted to prevent Cook's involvement, arguing that the Justice Department already had access to nearly a dozen of its executives as part of the case.

In April 2012, the Justice Department sued Apple, along with five of the six … Read more

Samsung outguns Apple in marketing, report says

With the success of its Galaxy S and Galaxy Note franchise, Samsung Electronics has shown that money talks.

Samsung outspent Apple in marketing in the U.S. last year, sinking $401 million in its promotional efforts here vs. Apple's marketing budget of $333 million, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing research firm Kantar Media.

The marketing muscle has been a crucial component to Samsung's success in surpassing Apple as the premier smartphone manufacturer and top cell phone player in the industry. With the smartphone market being incredibly competitive as ever, that marketing money will continue to be … Read more

Apple delays iTV to next year, Jefferies says

Remember the Apple TV that supposedly was launching this year? Well, that's not happening, investment banking firm Jefferies said today.

Apple has been rumored to be developing a television set (or drastically updated set-top box), but it's unclear what the product will look like or when it will launch.

The iTV launch has been postponed again, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said today in a note to investors. He had expected an Apple TV event in March, followed by a launch in September or October. However, he now believes the launch will happen sometime next year as the company'… Read more