SOFTWARE giant Apple has unveiled plans to pay out its first dividend in 17 years.
The US technology company has a pile of cash to the tune of more than $100bn (¤75.5bn).
The firm said that it cannot return cash to shareholders as quickly as it was generating it and will pay a quarterly dividend of $2.65 (¤2) a share beginning in the quarter that starts in July.
The moves will reward investors by using up some of the company's cash hoard of nearly $100bn and likely attract a new group of investors to buy the stock.