Shareholders' Equity

12 Months Ended

Sep. 26, 2015

Shareholders' Equity

Note 7 – Shareholders’ Equity

Dividends

The Company declared and paid cash dividends per share during the periods presented as follows:

	Dividends Per Share		Amount (in millions)
2015:
Fourth quarter	$	0.52	$	2,950
Third quarter		0.52		2,997
Second quarter		0.47		2,734
First quarter		0.47		2,750
Total cash dividends declared and paid	$	1.98	$	11,431
2014:
Fourth quarter	$	0.47	$	2,807
Third quarter		0.47		2,830
Second quarter		0.44		2,655
First quarter		0.44		2,739
Total cash dividends declared and paid	$	1.82	$	11,031

Future dividends are subject to declaration by the Board of Directors.

Share Repurchase Program

In the third quarter of 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors increased the share repurchase authorization to $140 billion of the Company’s common stock, of which $104 billion had been utilized as of September 26, 2015. The Company’s share repurchase program does not obligate it to acquire any specific number of shares. Under the program, shares may be repurchased in privately negotiated and/or open market transactions, including under plans complying with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

The Company has entered, and in the future may enter, into accelerated share repurchase arrangements (“ASRs”) with financial institutions. In exchange for up-front payments, the financial institutions deliver shares of the Company’s common stock during the purchase periods of each ASR. The total number of shares ultimately delivered, and therefore the average repurchase price paid per share, is determined at the end of the applicable purchase period of each ASR based on the volume weighted-average price of the Company’s common stock during that period. The shares received are retired in the periods they are delivered, and the up-front payments are accounted for as a reduction to shareholders’ equity in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets in the periods the payments are made. The Company reflects the ASRs as a repurchase of common stock in the period delivered for purposes of calculating earnings per share and as forward contracts indexed to its own common stock. The ASRs met all of the applicable criteria for equity classification, and therefore were not accounted for as derivative instruments.

The following table shows the Company’s ASR activity and related information during the years ended September 26, 2015 and September 27, 2014:

	Purchase Period End Date		Number of Shares (in thousands)			Average Repurchase Price Per Share		ASR Amount   (in millions)
May 2015 ASR		July 2015		48,293	(1)	$	124.24	$	6,000
August 2014 ASR		February 2015		81,525	(2)	$	110.40	$	9,000
January 2014 ASR		December 2014		134,247		$	89.39	$	12,000
April 2013 ASR		March 2014		172,548		$	69.55	$	12,000

⁽¹⁾  Includes 38.3 million shares delivered and retired at the beginning of the purchase period, which began in the third quarter of 2015 and 10.0 million shares delivered and retired at the end of the purchase period, which concluded in the fourth quarter of 2015.

⁽²⁾  Includes 59.9 million shares delivered and retired at the beginning of the purchase period, which began in the fourth quarter of 2014, 8.3 million net shares delivered and retired in the first quarter of 2015 and 13.3 million shares delivered and retired at the end of the purchase period, which concluded in the second quarter of 2015.

Additionally, the Company repurchased shares of its common stock in the open market, which were retired upon repurchase, during the periods presented as follows:

	Number of Shares (in thousands)		Average Repurchase Price Per Share		Amount    (in millions)
2015:
Fourth quarter		121,802	$	115.15	$	14,026
Third quarter		31,231	$	128.08		4,000
Second quarter		56,400	$	124.11		7,000
First quarter		45,704	$	109.40		5,000
Total open market common stock repurchases		255,137			$	30,026
2014:
Fourth quarter		81,255	$	98.46	$	8,000
Third quarter		58,661	$	85.23		5,000
Second quarter		79,749	$	75.24		6,000
First quarter		66,847	$	74.79		5,000
Total open market common stock repurchases		286,512			$	24,000