Shareholders Push Hard For Apple Succession Plan 233
eldavojohn writes "Apple has been a couple weeks now sans their iconic fearless leader and the shareholders are getting restless without a succession plan. Essentially the Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) is saying that there hasn't been enough disclosure in why exactly Steve is absent and they'd like an annual succession plan delivered to shareholders. Apple is recommending that on February 23 at its annual company meeting, its shareholders vote against the proposal for a succession plan. Apple may have a plan for life after Steve Jobs but if they do they are not sharing it with anyone — not even their financiers!"
Re:NO!! (Score:5, Informative)
No corporation is required to have a succession plan. Why should Apple
Because shareholders own the company. If the company's owners want a succession plan then Apple had better well get cracking.
Regardless, your assertion is false - most large companies will have succession plans for key staff. Many willl go so far as to take out hefty life insurance policies to cover short-term risk if their CEO, chief product designer, star analyst etc... gets hit by a bus.
Re:Owning stock - so? (Score:4, Informative)
The value of a stock is all future cash flows [i.e. dividends] discounted [i.e. interest rate + risk of owing a stock] back to today.
Apple has not paid any dividends because it believes that it can grow future profits and the current cash faster then if the owners were to take there money and invest in something else. That being said, Apple is sitting on a LOT of cash, so I have a hard time believing them – but your mileage may very.
And because Apple is a growing, profitable concern – i.e. the value of the company is growing – it makes sense that the stock is worth something. Once again I am not sure I would agree with the current stock market value – but there are people who do. It’s not a ponzi scheme which requires new investors to support the old.