Buying $110B of your own stock is legal, but isn't a good look.

It's earnings season and Apple showed less-than-stellar performance over the second quarter of 2024, but had a solution.Was it to invest in the next must-have tech gadget? Maybe build its own AI model or search engine so that it doesn't have to rely on Google's technology in those areas? No, it was to spend $110 billion on its own shares - the largest share buyback in American history and a movie that the markets loved.But - as we discuss in the Kettle you can watch below -stock buybacks (a practice that used to be illegal until the 1980s) are a bit of a red flag.

When tech companies stop investing in development and start slashing the cash on buy their own shares - we're looking at you IBM, Intel, Google, Boeing etc…

• Companies are increasing prices in the technology industry to drive profits, even when there is no significant cost pressure.
• The AI and GPU market may be heading towards a bubble, with companies financing themselves through loans using depreciating assets as collateral.
• Customers face challenges in managing costs and navigating vendor pricing, especially when migrating to the cloud.
• Open source solutions may offer an alternative to control costs, but there are challenges in maintaining and securing these solutions.