Nvidia Poised to Overtake Apple in Stock Buybacks Under Ternus

Nvidia is poised to surpass Apple in stock buybacks and dividends under new CEO John Ternus, according to recent predictions. Over the last 15 years, Apple reduced its share count by 43.2% under CEO Tim Cook.

Under Ternus' leadership, Apple could shift towards more aggressive investments in expanding its hardware ecosystem, whereas Nvidia has committed to returning half of its free cash flow to shareholders through buybacks and dividends.

Nvidia's capital return program is expected to continue growing, with the company already spending $19.73 billion on buybacks and $6.05 billion on dividends in its latest quarter. Apple, on the other hand, repurchased $25.95 billion in stock and spent $4 billion on dividends during the same period.

Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform is set to make up a significant portion of Q3 data center revenue, with the company guiding for a 70% year-over-year increase in fiscal 2028 revenue. If Nvidia converts a similar amount of that revenue to free cash flow, it will likely surpass Apple in buybacks next year.