Their stock was overvalued.  It's their money.  I don't see the problem here.

Hey where's that farker that bought at $455?

I've been hearing noise about a new version of the iPhone lately and no one seems to care.  Smart phones are beginning to plateau.

Apple shareholders deserve to have their money wasted like this.

PowerSlacker: Apple shareholders deserve to have their money wasted like this.

But their P/E ratio is < 10!!!!!  It's a SCREAMING BUY!!!!  WHY CAN'T YOU PEOPLE SEE THIS?  AAAAAPPPPPLLEEEEEEE!!!

I'll be blunt; why should Apple give a shiat about current stockholders?  They're not investors.  The company doesn't make any money off them.  They're just paper holders who bought the stock second hand.  And due to their massive cash reserves, it's not like they have to worry about "investor" confidence dropping that would prevent them from issuing new stock.

I hear Samsung is working on a building with 50 foot high, curved, glass walls that you can touch to a Google building to share employees.

And stupidly enough, after all that planning, it wasn't even going to be zombie proof.

bingethinker: Subby is either a moron or a troll. They decided to put up that building long before the stock took a dive. They still need the office space, so they're not going to stop just because you think they should.

No, wait, you could be BOTH a moron and a troll.

actually, Apple can stop it. demolition of the existing site has not even begun yet.

in the meantime, the project's budget has almost doubled to $5 billion.

does it bother anyone else that the budget for an office building is significantly greater than Apple's annual R&D budget of $3.4 billion? this is pure corporate stupidity.

Before his death, Jobs had hoped to break ground in 2012 and to move in by the end of 2015. Apple will start tearing down the 26 buildings on the site in June, according to another person familiar with the plan. At the company's annual meeting on Feb. 27, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said the move-in date has been pushed back to 2016. Apple declined to comment for this article.

dlp211: Their stock was overvalued.  It's their money.  I don't see the problem here.

Satanic_Hamster: I'll be blunt; why should Apple give a shiat about current stockholders?  They're not investors.  The company doesn't make any money off them.  They're just paper holders who bought the stock second hand.  And due to their massive cash reserves, it's not like they have to worry about "investor" confidence dropping that would prevent them from issuing new stock.

oh look, Apple fanboys that don't understand what it means to be a corporation.

dumbobruni: does it bother anyone else that the budget for an office building is significantly greater than Apple's annual R&D budget of $3.4 billion? this is pure corporate stupidity.

Apple has $137 Billion Cash on-hand. They can afford it.

YodaBlues: dumbobruni: does it bother anyone else that the budget for an office building is significantly greater than Apple's annual R&D budget of $3.4 billion? this is pure corporate stupidity.

Apple has $137 Billion Cash on-hand. They can afford it.

just because you can afford to overpay for something, doesn't mean you should.

dumbobruni: oh look, Apple fanboys that don't understand what it means to be a corporation.

Wait.

You're accusing me of being an Apple fan boy?

Me, the guy who spent a *decade* penis bombing #macnn ?

dlp211: Their stock was overvalued.  It's their money.  I don't see the problem here.

Whose money is it?

Satanic_Hamster: dumbobruni: oh look, Apple fanboys that don't understand what it means to be a corporation.

Wait.

You're accusing me of being an Apple fan boy?

Me, the guy who spent a *decade* penis bombing #macnn ?

[i.chzbgr.com image 500x298]

I think he is accusing you of not understanding who the owners of a corporation are. Or even what a corporation is.

Apple is the next Microsoft, they've shot their wad.  They'll sit on a huge pile of cash and continue to be less and less relevant each year.

bingethinker: Subby is either a moron or a troll. They decided to put up that building long before the stock took a dive. They still need the office space, so they're not going to stop just because you think they should.

No, wait, you could be BOTH a moron and a troll.

You forgot to include the Admin that green lit the story for all the link-bait.

Old news from June 7, 2011

YodaBlues: dumbobruni: does it bother anyone else that the budget for an office building is significantly greater than Apple's annual R&D budget of $3.4 billion? this is pure corporate stupidity.

Apple has $137 Billion Cash on-hand. They can afford it.

But most of that money is held overseas.

exvaxman: Years ago an investment advisor used the theory that if you are building a corporate complex meant to be more of a tribute to yourself, rather than being functional you were on your way down.

You're right.  I hear they turned down this version of a headquarters building by some architect named Roark.



Went to some newspaper guy who's paper folded.

Satanic_Hamster: dumbobruni: oh look, Apple fanboys that don't understand what it means to be a corporation.

Wait.

You're accusing me of being an Apple fan boy?

Me, the guy who spent a *decade* penis bombing #macnn ?

[i.chzbgr.com image 500x298]

Executives have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders.  That's the whole point of shares...

Shazam999: Hey where's that farker that bought at $455?

The FArQ says I can't call him out (before he gets into a thread) but I have him favorited. Rhymes with "Rhone Meadow"

Shazam999: Executives have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders.  That's the whole point of shares...

And who gets to decide whether that duty has been violated?  When it comes down to it, a judge does.  And judges generally don't like being asked to deal with trifling bullshiat -- unless there's a clear and compelling case to somehow be made that building a much-needed new office campus will cause irrevocable harm to the value of the company, the courts are going to assume the corporate executives are acting in good faith.

Shareholders are not empowered to micro-manage the corporation's operations any more than you and I as citizens are to decide foreign policy.

Short version: Apple will proceed with developing the site, using a revised design that reels in some of the extravagances of Jobs' original vision (flat glass panels instead of curved one, more traditional finishing details used in areas of the complex that only Apple employees will have access to) and cost between $3-4B.  The effect on Apple share price will be negligible, and no lawsuits will make it onto the docket.

Shazam999: Executives have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders. That's the whole point of shares...

Yeah, that's how it works.  In theory.

In practice, however, shareholders are generally not given a shiat about, unless they're large enough to hold a controlling or major interest.

poot_rootbeer: Shazam999: Executives have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders.  That's the whole point of shares...

And who gets to decide whether that duty has been violated?  When it comes down to it, a judge does.  And judges generally don't like being asked to deal with trifling bullshiat -- unless there's a clear and compelling case to somehow be made that building a much-needed new office campus will cause irrevocable harm to the value of the company, the courts are going to assume the corporate executives are acting in good faith.

please tell David Einhorn that his successful lawsuit was without merit. go ahead.

Wireless Joe: You're right. I hear they turned down this version of a headquarters building by some architect named Roark.

That's because he was an arrogant douche who couldn't build anything in anyone's style but his own. He was immediately branded a complete, self-righteous dickhead, obscenely difficult to work with, and he was eventually kicked out of the architecture community altogether. He died in a rock quarry somewhere up north, bereft of ambition, compulsion or conflict.

Satanic_Hamster: In practice, however, shareholders are generally not given a shiat about, unless they're large enough to hold a controlling or major interest.

Or used as an excuse to shiatcan a ton of workers, or outsource, even when you're profitable.

What's the difference between Microsoft and Apple?
Nobody pretends Microsoft doesn't suck

kab: Or used as an excuse to shiatcan a ton of workers, or outsource, even when you're profitable.

Yep.  Most major corps are run for the benefit of the CEO/board, NOT the company and shareholders.

Apple doesn't need to raise funds.  Unless the shareholders can get enough votes together to force the issue, their opinions do not matter.

dumbobruni: does it bother anyone else that the budget for an office building is significantly greater than Apple's annual R&D budget of $3.4 billion? this is pure corporate stupidity.

Where do you think there current employees are housed today?  Could it be over dozens of buildings spread out over Palo Alto?  And that they pay a tons of money in transportation, rent, and other costs associated with that?  And that perhaps consolidating them onto one campus would not only save them money but also increase collaboration?

Nah...

/where did you get your GED in business administration?

Oh ... almost forgot.



/this was announced years ago

falcon176: What's the difference between Microsoft and Apple?
Nobody pretends Microsoft doesn't suck

Have you never been to a Windows 8 thread?

dumbobruni: please tell David Einhorn that his successful lawsuit was without merit. go ahead.

1. All he won was an injunction addressing procedure: Apple was barred from bundling unrelated issues on a shareholder ballot. He has since dropped the actual lawsuit.

2. Ironically, Einhorn's stance is that Apple's management should get to make financial decisions, not shareholders. (There's fewer people to pay off to get what he wants that way.)

gingerjet: dumbobruni: does it bother anyone else that the budget for an office building is significantly greater than Apple's annual R&D budget of $3.4 billion? this is pure corporate stupidity.

Where do you think there current employees are housed today?  Could it be over dozens of buildings spread out over Palo Alto?  And that they pay a tons of money in transportation, rent, and other costs associated with that?  And that perhaps consolidating them onto one campus would not only save them money but also increase collaboration?

Nah...

/where did you get your GED in business administration?

I never said that consolidating the campus was without merit. The cost of doing this most certainly is.

in order to do so, Apple has to spend $5 billion? Three times per square foot more than what typical high rent office space usually runs?

imagine how great Apple Maps would have been if Apple's R&D budget was at least equal to the budget for this single building. Or the new iTunes. Or the iPhone5.

where's your home school gold star for business administration?

s2s2s2: I hear Samsung is working on a building with 50 foot high, curved, glass walls that you can touch to a Google building to share employees.

I'm not sure if that's funny or disgusting.

Fark the shareholders. They contribute nothing and deserve nothing.

Come on Apple fans, you can admit that the new HQ building looks like all those god awful multipurpose stadiums that were built in the 1970s. Why would anyone take inspiration from Atlanta-Fulton County stadium for a tech company?

Brontes: Shazam999: Hey where's that farker that bought at $455?

Going to get made fun of, but I bought at $450.  Thought it was a good investment and still think it is.  Cash on hand, no debt, printing money, high demand products that locks users in via software purchases, expanding product line, low P/E.

Ready, aim, mock!

The company will continue to make money by the truckload, but stock price is about perception. Will they meet earnings projections, will the threat of war with North Korea affect production, will obama outlaw smartpones? These things control stock price...not just their debt.

Apple was Steve Jobs. That was the perception that Apple created. It was his eye for design and it was him alone who had total control over the direction of the company and the products and their design. True or not...that what people were told. So now apple appears to be a captain-less ship.

ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha: [3.bp.blogspot.com image 297x400]

Came here to agree about old news being OLD NEWS

I don't care how much Apple plans to spend on building themselves a white elephant. It's their money. I want to know how much it will cost the city of Cupertino to tear it down when Apple goes belly-up and the place can't be sold at any price.

/RIP Stade olympique de Montreal

s2s2s2: I hear Samsung is working on a building with 50 foot high, curved, glass walls that you can touch to a Google building to share employees.

I laughed really hard at that.