Busy Week For Apple

It has been a very busy week for Apple and it is only Tuesday.  In 4 days, the new iPad has generated over 3 million sales.  Not reported, the number of new sales of the reduced price iPad 2.  And with sales to start in more countries, the number of iPads sold is expected to continue to rise dramatically. "Apple sold more than 40 million iPad units in 2011, and several analysts expect the number to top 60 million for the current calendar year."  While laptops and desktops get to be shared  among the family, each family member wants to own their own iPad, iPod, and iPhone device.  Brilliant.

Also on Monday came word that Apple was reinstating a dividend that had been stopped after Steve Jobs had re-entered Apple.  Ironic that it comes back to shareholders months after Steve Jobs has passed away.  For Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, it is the right course to return income to shareholders and to reach a new set of institutional investors.   And along with a stock buyback, it is still just a dent in the free cash that Apple carries.  So what will be announced next quarter?  A new iMac, a stock split?  With Apple, there is always the next announcement.