The steep drop has heaped pressure on chief executive Tim Cook to find ways of returning the cash the company has accumulated to shareholders. Mr Einhorn is suing to prevent Apple eliminating preferred shares, something the Silicon Valley company wants to do at its annual shareholder meeting this month.

Mr Einhorn described Apple as a “phenomenal company filled with talented people creating iconic products”, but said the proposed change “unnecessarily limits the board’s flexibility to distribute preferred stock as a means of unlocking shareholder value”.

“We understand that many of our fellow shareholders share our frustration with Apple’s capital allocation policies,” Mr Einhorn wrote in a letter to Apple shareholders. “Apple has $ 145 per share of cash on its balance sheet. As a shareholder, this is your money.”

Since he replaced Steve Jobs as chief executive in 2011, Mr Cook has moved to give more cash to investors.

Last year saw the company pay dividends for the first time and introduce a $ 10bn buy-back programme.

Apple said the resolution it proposed at its annual meeting will not prevent the company issuing preferred shares to its investors.