Einhorn at the World Series of Poker. He finished 18th.
FORTUNE — Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn, the poker-playing hedge fund manager who made his billions shorting Lehman Bros. and Allied Capital, never really fell out of love with Apple (AAPL). He sued the company last February not because he had lost faith, but because he wanted Apple management to increase the value of his million or so shares.
He was back in the headlines last week, praising Apple’s stock repurchase plan, and again on Tuesday, reporting to his shareholders on Greenlight’s (GLRE) performance last quarter. Here’s, according to an edited Seeking Alpha transcript, is what he had to say to them about Apple:
“Our biggest loss in the first quarter came from Apple, which declined about 17%. The biggest problems for our Apple investment are disappointing earnings and a diminished forecast. Our thesis remains that Apple has a terrific operating platform and that its loyal, sticky and growing customer base will make repeated purchases of a growing portfolio of Apple products.
“Apple took a major step forward by issuing debt and announcing it will return $100 billion to shareholders over the next three years. This is a vastly more shareholder friendly capital allocation policy, than where Apple stood a few months ago. We’ve added to our Apple position. Now, we just wait for the release of Apple’s next blockbuster product.”
