Apple approved a $90 billion share buyback program

Apple Inc. is planning to buyback another $90 billion of its stock.

Tech giant announces the expansion of its share repurchase programs while reporting better than expected second-quarter results. The Cupertino firm's (Nasdaq : AAPL) share price is about the same as it was one year ago when they announced their new buyback program.

In a press statement, Luca Maestri said that the iPhone maker's board approved the new money because of "our confidence in Apple’s future and value we see in the stock."

Investors mostly ignored the announcements. In recent after-hours trades, the company's stock price rose by about 2%.

Apple spent $90.2 Billion on stock repurchases during its fiscal year last year, and $39 Billion in the first half of this fiscal year.

The company reported a profit of $24.2 billion in its second fiscal quarter. This is equivalent to $1.52 per share. The company's revenue fell 3%, to $94.8 billion.

Apple's operating cash flow for the period was $28.6 Billion.

Analysts predicted earnings of $1.43 per share on revenues of almost $93 billion.

Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, noted in a press release that the services division had posted sales of $20.9 billion for the quarter. This is a record quarterly. Apple's iPhones generated sales of $51.3 billion during the quarter -- up from $50.6 in its second quarter in last year. This is a record for a quarter in March, according to Cook. He said that the number of Apple devices in use, which are not released by the company, also reached a record high.

Cook stated in a press release that the company had achieved these successes "despite the challenging macroeconomic climate".

Apple increased its quarterly dividend by 4%, to 24 cents per share. This is in addition to its increase of its buyback program. Maestri noted that this was the 11th consecutive year Apple had increased its dividend payout.