The Guardian newspaper reported on Friday that Mr Einhorn, whose Greenlight Capital hedge fund owns 1.3m Apple shares –  around 0.12 per cent of the company – claims the Cupertino-based iPhone manufacturer has a ‘cash problem’ that it should solve by paying out more to investors.

'Extraordinary company'

However, he also added that Apple is an ‘extraordinary company, [with] extraordinary products and extraordinary prospects’ and also said that he was ‘absolutely enthusiastic about the stock’.
Mr Einhorn also claimed that he discussed his ideas with Apple for several months but the company ultimately rejected his proposals, sparking the legal action.

Allocation policies

In an open letter to shareholders, Mr Einhorn said: ‘We understand that many of our fellow shareholders share our frustration with Apple's capital allocation policies. Apple has $145 (£107) per share of cash on its balance sheet. As a shareholder, this is your money.’
Apple's finance director Peter Oppenheimer has said the company ‘continually’ assesses the prospect of returning more cash to shareholders, adding ‘we'll do what we think is in the best interest of our shareholders’.