How will Apple’s new CFO handle dividends and buybacks?

Apple on Monday announced that Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Luca Maestri will transition from his role on January 1, 2025. Maestri will continue to lead the Corporate Services teams, including information systems and technology, information security, and real estate and development, reporting to Apple CEO Tim Cook. As part of a planned succession, Kevan Parekh, Apple’s Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis, will become Chief Financial Officer and join the executive team.
So, what does that mean for Apple’s dividends and buybacks?
Al Root for Barron’s:
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There are reasons to like Maestri. In the 10 years before his ascension, Apple paid $13 billion to shareholders in dividends while buying back $12 billion worth of stock. In his 10 years on the job, Apple paid out $134 billion in dividends and bought back more than $600 billion worth of stock.
Dividends per share have grown more than 8% a year under Maestri while the number of shares outstanding has dropped about 37% since the middle of 2014. All told, Capital return grew from about 15% of free cash flow in the decade before Maestri to 102% under his tenure.
“Apple’s free cash flow will still be worth a premium under Parekh,” wrote [Melius Research analyst Ben] Reitzes, adding that he sees higher sales and earnings driven by consumer adoption of AI tech. AI might be the coming engine of cash flow growth. Just don’t forget what Apple management does with the cash flow can be just as important as AI.
Parekh’s job will be, in part, to maintain the legacy of capital return.

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MacDailyNews Take: We expect Parekh will stay the course as he’s been by Maestri’s side at Apple for more than a decade as a key member of Apple’s finance leadership team who understands the finance side of the company very well.
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