Apple shares the wealth: Boosts stock buyback, ups dividend 15%  —  With $145 billion in the bank, Apple has been under increasing pressure to return more money to shareholders.  Now it responds - big time.  —  Apple boosted its stock buyback and approved a 15% increase in its quarterly dividend.

Tim Cook teases ‘exciting new product category’ and ‘more surprises’ in the fall  —  During Apple's Q2 investor call, CEO Tim Cook teased “the potential of exciting new product categories,” and suggested that the company will announce new products in the fall.  “We've got a lot more surprises in the works,” Cook said.

Apple's new pitch to investors  —  Today's earnings report marks the point at which Apple is officially no longer a high-growth tech stock, valued on its monster potential.  Instead, it has become a cash cow, valued on its ability to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into its shareholders' pockets.

Apple's Solid-After-All Quarter In Charts  —  Apple is still growing, but slower than before.  And it's not as profitable as it was a year ago — a rare reversal.  But it's still solid.  —  Apple reported March quarter earnings this afternoon.  Expectations were muted, and Apple beat them, with particularly strong iPad shipments.

Galaxy S 4 Is a Good, but Not a Great, Step Up  —  Samsung has been on a roll.  The success of its many models of smartphones, aided by massive marketing campaigns, has made it by far the leading maker of devices running on Google's Android operating system and the chief rival to Apple in smartphones.