Greenlight Capital
Transcript: What David Einhorn told his shareholders about Apple
May 7, 2013: 11:26 AM ETThe hedge-fund billionaire who sued Apple in February was buying shares again in March.
Einhorn at the World Series of Poker. He finished 18th.
FORTUNE -- Greenlight Capital's David Einhorn, the poker-playing hedge fund manager who made his billions shorting Lehman Bros. and Allied Capital, never really fell out of love with Apple (AAPL). He sued the company last February not because he had lost faith, but because he wanted Apple management to increase the value of his million or so shares.
He was back in the headlines last week, praising Apple's stock repurchase plan, and again on Tuesday, reporting to his shareholders on Greenlight's (GLRE) performance last quarter. Here's, according to an edited Seeking Alpha transcript, is what he had to say to them about Apple:
"Our biggest loss in the first quarter came from Apple, which declined about 17%. The biggest problems for our Apple investment are disappointing earnings and a diminished forecast. Our thesis remains that Apple has a terrific operating platform and that its loyal, sticky and growing customer base will make repeated purchases of a growing portfolio of Apple products.
"Apple took a major step forward by issuing debt and announcing it will return $100 billion to shareholders over the next three years. This is a vastly more shareholder friendly capital allocation policy, than where Apple stood a few months ago. We've added to our Apple position. Now, we just wait for the release of Apple's next blockbuster product."
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What not to expect at Apple's shareholders meeting today
Will Tim Cook say anything newsworthy or material? Don't hold your breath.
FORTUNE -- Given the advance buildup -- a headline-grabbing billionaire, a high-profile proxy fight, a hedge-fund lawsuit, a federal judge's preliminary injunction and those cutesy iPrefs -- Apple's (AAPL) annual shareholders meeting today is likely to disappoint.
For one thing, the proposition that created all the fuss -- a change in the company's articles of incorporation that would have prohibited the issuance MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 26, 2013 11:08 AM ET -
Hedge fund wins suit Apple's CEO called a 'silly sideshow'
But David Einhorn is no closer to getting the preferred shares he's been lobbying for
FORTUNE -- Three days after he heard the case, U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan ruled against Apple (AAPL) and for David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital in a dispute that generated a lot of heat but shed no light on the issue Apple investors care most about: What the company plans to do with the $137 billion in MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 22, 2013 6:00 PM ET -
Would you buy an Apple iPref from this man?
David Einhorn takes his case for perpetual preferred stock to Apple shareholders
FORTUNE -- Having failed to persuade Apple's (AAPL) management of the virtues of unloading some of its excess cash through perpetual preferred shares, billionaire hedge fund manager David Einhorn renamed them "iPrefs" and took his case directly to the shareholders Thursday.
In an open conference call accompanied by more than 50 pages of graphs and spreadsheets, he pitched iPrefs as MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 21, 2013 4:55 PM ET -
Hedge fund suit against Apple hangs on 'irreparable harm'
Judge agrees that Apple's proxy probably broke SEC rules, but hesitates to intercede
FORTUNE -- It looks like billionaire hedge-fund manager David Einhorn won half his battle with Apple (AAPL) in a New York federal court Tuesday.
Lawyers for Greenlight Capital, Einhorn's firm, had argued that putting into one proposition three separate items -- two of which Einhorn supported and one (which barred Apple's board from issuing preferred shares without a shareholder MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 19, 2013 6:26 PM ET -
Apple's cash give-back plans: What the analysts are saying
The Street is taking bets on how many billions might be distributed to the shareholders
FORTUNE -- In the wake of the David Einhorn's legal challenge and Apple's (AAPL) statement in response, a flurry of analysts' notes:
Bill Shope, Goldman Sachs: The capital allocation theme heats up. "While we do not take a view on the basis of the legal proceeding, we believe this latest example of shareholder activism serves to highlight Apple's MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 8, 2013 10:34 AM ET -
How would Steve Jobs return cash to his shareholders?
Simply and transparently? Or through a complex scheme designed by a hedge fund?
FORTUNE -- After Thursday's Wall Street drama -- in which a media blitz orchestrated by hedge fund billionaire David Einhorn got a rise out of Apple (AAPL) management and a pop in the stock price -- I have a few thoughts about what's going on.
First, I take the company at its word (see statement) that it's got way more MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 8, 2013 6:35 AM ET -
What exactly does David Einhorn want from Apple?
When you own a million shares, Apple will take your call. But it may not do your bidding.
FORTUNE -- David Einhorn, the 44-year-old founder of Greenlight Capital and the author of Fooling Some of the People All of the Time, is a complicated guy.
He's a billionaire hedge fund manager who made a killing shorting Lehman Bros. and Allied Capital, finished 18th in the World Series of Poker, almost bought a MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 7, 2013 12:13 PM ET -
Meet the men who carved $96B out of Apple's market value
A gathering of hedge fund managers in Manhattan sends the share price on a wild ride.
FORTUNE -- See on the chart at right where Apple's (AAPL) share price dropped to just over $540 shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday?
That corresponds roughly to when the fund manager pictured above left, DoubleLine Capital's Jeffrey Gundlach, told a room packed with investment managers that he was shorting Apple. "I just wonder how many people will MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 17, 2012 8:03 AM ET
