Apple owes way way over a hundred billion dollars, that is a lot of debt. They are completely dependent on a growing economy where people have a lot of loose dollars to spend for new toys.
The Fed is talking and talking about raising rates but they are still pumping in more new dollars which is the exact opposite. Last week the Fed added 79 billion new dollars, over 11 billion per day. If they were at all interested in dropping inflation they would stopped the money injections months ago when inflation really took off. Talk is cheap and only actions count for anything.
With most here it seems to be a all or nothing especially on the markets. That is not reality. When you take on debt at sub 3% and make multiples of that every year on that "investment" and have the capital on hand to pay off any debt, you do not worry about a market sell off.
Apple's $3 trillion market cap shows value of share buybacks, dividend (cnbc.com)
"Apple started to pay quarterly dividends and repurchase its shares in March 2012. Since then and through last summer, Apple has spent over $467 billion on buybacks, according
to S&P Global Market Intelligence, which calls the iPhone maker the “poster child” for share buybacks.
In fact, since August 2018, when Apple first hit a $1 trillion value, its stock is up 252%, compared with a market cap increase of about 200%. The disparity is a direct result of its buyback program, which has reduced the company’s share count from about 19.4 billion at the end of June 2018 to about 16.4 billion now.
Investors are beginning to see Apple as a “
flight to safety” or quality trade thanks to the combination of its large cash flow and willingness to return that money to investors."
Oh, I almost forgot. The fed is telling you the reality of what they are going to do. Do not fight the fed. The markets correct to reflect the new reality. Lumber limit down the last three trading days after a long run up.