Did Apple Have 'Nothing Better To Do' Than Announce A Stock Split?

Apple AAPL received a lot of investor attention after announcing a surprise stock split.

Was this a smart business decision, or a stall tactic to appease investors until the company has something better to announce?

"Sometimes it just means you've got nothing better to do," Jarrett Lilien, former President and COO of E*TRADE ETFC, told Benzinga. "That's always where my mind goes."

"A couple years ago I saw Charles Schwab [make] some price changes. To me that just shows such lack of creativity. The market is not asking for lower prices. If that's the best you can do to try and shake it up, you're on empty."

Lilien, who is now the Chairman and CEO of Kapitall, said that there are times when dividends and stock splits can be the same way.

Related: Did Apple Cut The MacBook Air's Price To Prevent A Sales Decline?

"On the other hand, there is the argument to be made for [a company] like Apple that if the stock is really high, and your customers are generally retail and you'd like some of your shareholders to be retail, [it's] not a bad idea to align your stock price so it looks more affordable to your own customer base," he said. "

"I could see it both ways. It does seem like a lack of better things to do. But it also doesn't seem like a terrible idea to have a lower-priced stock so that the customers can also be shareholders."

iDevices, But No New Ideas?

Some investors are anxiously waiting for Apple to release a fresh product, such as the long-awaited iWatch. Apple has yet to confirm that it is developing a wearable device, but analysts have expected the iPhone maker to release a smart watch for more than a year.

In addition to a watch, Apple is also rumored to be developing its first television set. This rumor has been floating around the Internet for more than two years. Once again, Apple has remained quiet on the existence of this unconfirmed product.

Aside from those two concepts, it is not yet clear what Apple will develop next. The company is rumored to working on groundbreaking ear buds that could monitor the wearer's blood pressure and heart rate.

Apple is also expected to release the iPhone 6 and a 12.9-inch iPad in 2014. Those devices fit into existing product categories, however -- they will not create new ones.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.