Unlike others who focus on INTC's just announced revenue and EPS numbers (both of which beat), we were far more interested with what the company is actually doing with its operating cash flow, because keeping track of INTC's capital allocation decisions tells us much more about what the company thinks of the immediate future and its growth potential. Well, for anyone claiming in Q2 stock buybacks are about to slowdown, INTC has four words: "don't make me laugh." Because of the $5.5 billion in cash from operations, Intel promptly returned well over half to shareholders, of which $1.1 billion in the form of Dividends, and another $2.1 billion as stock buybacks.
How big is the $2.1 billion number in context? This big.
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And don't worry: this runaway train isn't stopping any time soon - the company announced that the board has authorized a whopping $20 billion increase to its share repurchase program, and anticipates spending a massive $4 billion on stock buybacks in the next quarter alone!
So much for a pick up in CapEx spending at yet another company.
