March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc., whose stock has plunged 37 percent this year, has no plans to buy back shares or start paying a dividend, Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs said.

``At this time, we have no plans to do either,'' Jobs said in response to a question at the company's annual meeting today at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. He also reiterated his goal for this year of selling 10 million iPhones, the Web- surfing mobile phone introduced in June.

Apple's shares have slumped since January, when the company forecast second-quarter sales that missed analysts' estimates, sparking concern that consumers are curbing purchases to cope with slowing U.S. economic growth. Jobs repeated today that he plans to introduce the iPhone in Asia this year.

``Jobs's reiteration of the 10 million iPhones and the iPhone in Asia by the end of the year eases some investor concerns,'' said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co. in Minneapolis. He is among 22 analysts tracked by Bloomberg who recommend investors buy Apple shares.

Apple will start selling the iPhone in China and India ``one day,'' Chief Operating Officer Timothy Cook said, declining to comment further. Apple is talking to many carriers, including China Mobile Ltd., and will enter ``lots of different places in 2008,'' he said. The iPhone is sold today in the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany.

Apple, which also makes the Macintosh computer and the iPod media player, rose $2.89 to $124.62 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.

Conservative Investments

Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer, responding to a question about the collapse of the auction-rate securities market and whether Apple's investments were at risk, said the company didn't have any ``direct exposure.''

``We have been very conservative with investing Apple's cash,'' Oppenheimer said. ``We've not had any material losses to date on the investment portfolio. We're watching it.''

Jobs, who returned a decade ago to lead the computer company he helped found, oversaw the debut of the best-selling iPod media player and the iPhone, which blends the iPod's features with a mobile phone. He said he sees many potential successors among Apple's executives if something should happen to him. Jobs recovered from pancreatic cancer in 2004.

``We've got great talent, and I think the board would have a few really good choices,'' said Jobs, 53. ``We talk about that a lot.'' Candidates include Cook and Oppenheimer, he said.

Investors also re-elected the board, which includes former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Google Inc. CEO Eric Schmidt, and approved a proposal that would give shareholders a say in executive compensation.

``I'm hoping the say-on-pay proposal will help with my $1 a year,'' joked Jobs, who has earned $1 in salary since returning as CEO. The board, which has granted him stock, said in a filing in November that it's considering additional compensation.

When asked if Apple might consider offering products funded by advertising, Jobs said: ``We love the idea. I can't talk about unannounced products.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Connie Guglielmo in San Francisco at cguglielmo1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 4, 2008 18:35 EST