How much is a tweet worth to a company like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)? Undoubtedly that will be something Twitter will be working out as it approaches its initial public offering. But if you’re Carl Icahn, you can add a cool $8 billion to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s market capitalization—with a single tweet.
Icahn tweets progress with Apple
Icahn is certainly a man whose words can move the markets, and in this case, it’s his tweets which are doing the work. He tweeted earlier this year that he had taken a sizeable position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Then he tweeted that he was pushing for a bigger share buyback program at the company. This week he put a number on the share buyback he’s pushing for—$150 billion.
He apparently met with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook on Monday to discuss the possibility of the share buyback. They decided to resume negotiations later.
Philip Elmer-Dewitt of CNN Fortune noted that after just two of Icahn’s tweet’s Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s market value gained $17 billion within a little over an hour. According to Ben Lovejoy of 9to5 Mac, across all of Icahn’s tweets, the average amount he has managed to add to the company’s market value is about $8 billion per tweet. In all, the total effect of Icahn’s tweets about Apple has added up to approximately $23 billion.
Today Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares are back to flirting with $500 a share. The $500 mark has been teasing investors since earlier this month when it was hovering right around $500. Will Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) hit that mark again? Of course it depends on several factors, like if Icahn tweets again. Or if the company beats expectations for iPhone sales in the third quarter, as it looks like it is poised to do. And of course other catalysts could push it higher sooner, so we’ll just have to see what happens.
