Carl Icahn files $50bn Apple share buyback proposal

Investor Carl Icahn has reportedly filed a shareholder proposal that could lead Apple to increase its share buyback program.

Icahn tweeted that he is looking for an 'increase' in the size of the buyback program and wants what appears to be an additional 50 billion dollars in repurchases.

According to TechCrunch, the proposal even if accepted by majority of shareholders would not force Apple's management to take any specific action but the pressure would be strong on the tech giant's leaders to increase its shareholder reward programs.

The report said that Apple is returning mountains of cash to its investors, though those sums must be kept in proportion to its profits, and total cash position.

If Apple increases the amount of its shares that it purchases, its earnings become more concentrated on a per-share basis, increasing the value of each unit of the company and with it, the price of the shares too rises, making Icahn a richer investor, the report added.