Taking advantage of the GOP-led tax overhaul last winter, iPhone-maker Apple said Tuesday it will buy back as much as $100 billion of its stock.
The tax law, which cut the top corporate rate significantly, also charges companies a one-time fee of 15.5 percent on cash held overseas and 8 percent on other assets, after which both can be returned to the U.S. without further penalty.
The provision, which establishes a territorial system under which companies aren’t taxed in the U.S. on overseas earnings already subjected to foreign levies, “allows us to invest for growth in the United States more efficiently,” said Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri. Apple has roughly $269 billion in overseas cash.
Buoyed by strong iPhone and iPad sales, the consumer technology giant reported revenue of $61.1 billion for the three months through March 31, up 16 percent from a year earlier. Net income rose 25 percent to $13.8 billion, or $2.73 a share.
Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has said the Cupertino, Calif.-based company will invest $350 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, with $30 billion in capital spending that includes a yet-to-be-announced new campus. Apple aims to produce over 20,000 more U.S. jobs in that time frame.
Maestri said the company bought back $23.5 billion of its shares in the March quarter.
