Apple CEO Tim Cook Reassures “There Will Be New Categories”

Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed to the Wall Street Journal in an interview the company has repurchased $14 billion of its own shares in the two weeks since reporting its 2014 Q1 earnings.

Cook says “we are betting on Apple” after noting the company has repurchased over $40 billion of its shares in the past 12 months, in what the CEO called a record for any company in that timeframe.

When it comes to acquisitions, Cook admitted Apple has acquired 21 companies in 15 months and is not afraid to spend over a billion to acquire the right talent:

“We’ve looked at big companies,” said Mr. Cook. “We have no problem spending 10 figures for the right company, for the right fit that’s in the best interest of Apple in the long-term. None. Zero.”

Cook aimed to reassure investors Apple’s brightest days are still ahead of them, despite a recent 8 per cent decline in AAPL a day after its recent quarterly earnings were released.

The CEO said Apple is set to debut a new product category this year, but declined to mention whether it would be something entirely new or an upgrade to an existing product. Cook noted anyone “reasonable” would define what the company is working on as new categories:

“There will be new categories. We’re not ready to talk about it, but we’re working on some really great stuff,”

Cook also repeated Apple wants to make the best phones, not necessarily the most, is something that remains misunderstood; he says being viewing as small is something Apple isn’t satisfied with:

“I don’t view that as being satisfied with being small or however you want to define it,” he said. “I just want to say that the macro thing for us is making a great product and we must do that. If we can’t do that, we’re not going to force ourselves to hit a price point that makes us produce a product that we’re not proud of because we lose who we are in that. We’re not going to do that.”