Apple, a company with a cash stockpile bigger than a medium-sized country’s GDP, stands to benefit massively from Trump’s tax plan. According to analysis from Citi seen by Business Insider, Trump’s proposed changes to the tax code would see Apple’s earnings per share and profits go through the roof — provided that it doesn’t actually have to make the iPhone in America.
Citi’s analysis assumes two main things: the corporate tax rate will be cut from 35% to 15%, and there will be a 10% tax on repatriating cash from overseas (where the bulk of Apple’s cash is held currently). Those two moves would benefit Apple to the tune of billions:
… we see Apple as a significant beneficiary of Trump tax reforms. Apple is very well positioned to benefit from potential tax reform of either or both a repatriation tax holiday and or a lower corporate tax rate. Our analysis show a reduction in US tax rate will drive 6% benefit to EPS while a cash repatriation holiday and share buyback could drive an incremental 10% EPS benefit (assuming 25% of repatriated cash used for stock buy back).
EPS, or earnings per share, is a key driver of the price of a stock. Apple’s stock is currently sitting at a historic high; some of that can be attributed to investors already assuming that Trump’s tax reform is going to take place.
But reading between the lines of how meetings have already gone between Trump and Apple (and the wider tech industry), Trump knows how much Apple stands to benefit from his tax reforms. In all likelihood, Trump will demand a return in the form of more US investment or jobs from Apple, and ideally moving some manufacturing back to the US.
iPhone production isn’t likely to be coming back stateside any time soon — not just because of the cost of labor — but hmm, those shiny new iMacs sure would look nice with a “Made in the USA” sticker.
