that's not true. it is their money - the shareholders probably just wouldn't like the move and as a result, apples stock price would plummet (but that doesn't really need to bother them - it's not like somebody's just gonna buy the currently most expensive company in the world). however what would bother me more as an investor would be that apple apparently has no idea what to do with all that money (how about expanding R&D even more, like microsoft? and develop the next gen input devices (after touchscreens))
Oh yes it better bother them. Cook and the Board have a fiduciary duty to the shareholders. They can't just go spending money however they want without regard to shareholder wishes or stock performance.
The shareholders of Apple are the owners of Apple. They get the final vote in the end, although it has to be translated through boards of directors and management.
The Apple Board of Directors has a fiduciary duty to investors. If they take action that causes the share price to fall dramatically, thereby losing investor value, you can be pretty sure the Board will not last very long so yes it would matter.
A company? We're talking about Apple. I doubt Steve Jobs would have been caught dead saying that about Apple, and I hope that culture is continuing with Apple. Apple employees, notably Ives, have said over and over that their #1 goal is to create <magical products>.
