Apple’s $14 billion stock buyback lifts shares

NEW YORK – Apple has repurchased $14 billion of its stock in the two weeks after its first-quarter financial results and second-quarter revenue outlook disappointed investors.

The buyback news helped lift Apple’s stock by more than 1 percent Friday.

Apple Inc. bought $12 billion worth of its shares through an accelerated repurchase program and $2 billion on the open market, the company confirmed.

The company stepped up its investments because CEO Tim Cook believed the stock had become a bargain after a recent downturn.

Late Thursday, Cook said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the company was “surprised” when its stock dropped 8 percent the day after its earnings report and revenue outlook. He told the newspaper he wanted to be “aggressive” and “opportunistic.”

Apple has grown accustomed to being a leader in the technology sector. In the Steve Jobs era, consumers and investors alike eagerly awaited each new product announcement and have been rewarded as devices like the iPhone and iPad won accolades for innovation and pushing technology forward.

But with each new innovation over the years, there have been increasingly higher expectations for the future. So when Apple’s first-quarter iPad and iPhone sales were not as big as expected by investors, and its second-quarter revenue forecast fell short of Wall Street’s view, the stock got dinged.

In the past year Apple’s shares have lost some ground due to concerns about slowing growth and increasing competition.

And with the smartphone market becoming inundated with options, Apple may be hard-pressed to lift its stock back to where it stood at its peak price of more than $700 in September 2012.

Apples shares closed Friday up $7.17, or 1.4 percent, at $519.68.