The repurchase clause still has the CEO consulting the Chairman, and that seat just changed hands. Does the wording get tested only when the stock stops looking cheap, or is there a past filing where the language shifted around a leadership change?
I’m disappointed by the lack of clarity related to Warren’s move to Chairman Emeritus. Although he retired as CEO at the beginning of the year, he was clearly still in an active role coming into the office every day and making large investment decisions such as Alphabet. He was also clearly in the loop on repurchase decisions as Chairman, consistent with the stated language in SEC filings. Now we are left to wonder if he’s still in the loop on any of these things since September and I take the SEC filing literally to mean that Greg is indeed consulting with Howard on repurchases. That’s not to say Warren is totally sidelined. I’m sure he’s involved in some way. But we are left to speculate on the extent of his involvement and this is material information. I am sure this will all be cleared up in Greg’s annual letter but that’s over three months away. I am not sure Warren will discuss this in his Thanksgiving letter, if he chooses to write one. Anyway, the business is doing well overall and that’s the key thing to watch.
Good point on separating operating earnings from the noise of unrealized gains. The FX adjustment is a nice touch, since it shows how flat the underlying quarter really was. I'm curious how you think about the buybacks: with the cash pile still near $357B and the price having run up recently, what would a sensible discipline on repurchase pricing look like for Abel?
The repurchase clause still has the CEO consulting the Chairman, and that seat just changed hands. Does the wording get tested only when the stock stops looking cheap, or is there a past filing where the language shifted around a leadership change?
I’m disappointed by the lack of clarity related to Warren’s move to Chairman Emeritus. Although he retired as CEO at the beginning of the year, he was clearly still in an active role coming into the office every day and making large investment decisions such as Alphabet. He was also clearly in the loop on repurchase decisions as Chairman, consistent with the stated language in SEC filings. Now we are left to wonder if he’s still in the loop on any of these things since September and I take the SEC filing literally to mean that Greg is indeed consulting with Howard on repurchases. That’s not to say Warren is totally sidelined. I’m sure he’s involved in some way. But we are left to speculate on the extent of his involvement and this is material information. I am sure this will all be cleared up in Greg’s annual letter but that’s over three months away. I am not sure Warren will discuss this in his Thanksgiving letter, if he chooses to write one. Anyway, the business is doing well overall and that’s the key thing to watch.
Good point on separating operating earnings from the noise of unrealized gains. The FX adjustment is a nice touch, since it shows how flat the underlying quarter really was. I'm curious how you think about the buybacks: with the cash pile still near $357B and the price having run up recently, what would a sensible discipline on repurchase pricing look like for Abel?