Any cash dividend under the amount FINRA declares "Special" would harm employee holders of stock options and be a windfall for those who have sold LEAPs or any call options that are not called before the XD dates. It might not go to Tim Cook for his 1,000,000 shares that vest half in 2016 and half in 2021, while the company passes out $12 billion a year, if you had your "way".
I haven't read his stock grant agreement to see what adjustments are covered. But he agreed to the terms (as did other executives) including the long vesting period so he would think like a long-term shareholder. Paying him a dividend of $3,350,000 4 times a year would change the stretch structure he and the board, including Jobs, agreed to in August.
And listed options have fees per contract, so if you had your way those options costs like 75¢ a contract and $.0245 per contract would go up about 900%. That would make the AAPL options marketplace less liquid, more inefficient due to higher transaction costs.
Any cash dividend would not be approved by Apple's board unless Apple is highly confident it would qualify for the best individual federal taxation rates, currently 15%. Would you want the Board to approve a dividend even if it did not qualify (because Apple Inc. pays too little U.S. income tax, for instance) and it would be taxed at 30% or 39%?
And do you like the way Disney pays? Once a year in mid-January? That's unusual but Jobs didn't object enough to convince that board (including Robert Iger) to pay the usual 4 times a year. I think Iger was his pick to be the 8th board member. |
