‘Apple should buy Bitcoin,’ Saylor says, as share buyback disappoints

Apple, the world’s fourth-largest company by market capitalization, should buy Bitcoin to address the poor performance of its stock buyback program, according to Strategy executive chairman, Michael Saylor.

“Apple should buy Bitcoin,” Saylor said in a June 10 X post.

Saylor’s comment responded to Jim Cramer’s criticism of the Apple buyback program.

“The Apple buyback is not working right now,” Cramer wrote in a June 10 X post. 

“The company can leave it to earn a lot or it can take some and integrate. It is not a badge of dishonor. It just isn’t,” he added.

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Apple’s buyback program aims to reduce the number of outstanding shares and return value to investors, according to the $110 billion stock buyback strategy announced in a May 2024 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

However, Apple’s stock has declined more than 17% since the start of the year.

Over the same period, Bitcoin has gained more than 17%, according to data from TradingView. Zooming out, Bitcoin has surged over 1,000% in the past five years, compared with a 137% increase in Apple shares.

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The call for Apple to adopt Bitcoin comes as more companies move to add the cryptocurrency to their balance sheets.

On May 28, US video game and consumer electronics retailer GameStop announced its first Bitcoin investment, acquiring 4,710 BTC for around $513 million after the firm launched a $1.3 billion convertible notes offering.

Japanese investment company Metaplanet is spearheading Bitcoin adoption in Asia after becoming the world’s eighth-largest corporate Bitcoin holder on June 2.

Metaplanet’s shares soared over 12% during Monday’s trading session after the company announced plans to raise $5.4 billion worth of capital to buy more Bitcoin.

Over in Europe, Paris-based cryptocurrency firm The Blockchain Group announced plans to raise over $340 million for its Bitcoin treasury, Cointelegraph reported on Monday. The announcement came a week after the firm acquired $68 million worth of Bitcoin, pushing its total holdings to 1,471 Bitcoin, or over $154 million.

Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have made a comeback from a two-day sell-off, recording over $386 million worth of net positive inflows on June 9, Farside Investors data shows.

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