Financing cash flows consist primarily of repurchases and retirement of common stock, payment of dividends to stockholders, and proceeds from the sale of shares through employee equity incentive plans.

The higher cash used in financing activities in 2008 compared to 2007 was primarily due to an increase in repurchases and retirement of common stock, and lower proceeds from the sale of shares pursuant to employee equity incentive plans. During 2008, we repurchased $7.2 billion of common stock compared to $2.8 billion in 2007. As of December 27, 2008, $7.4 billion remained available for repurchase under the existing repurchase authorization of $25 billion. We base our level of common stock repurchases on internal cash management decisions, and this level may fluctuate. Proceeds from the sale of shares through employee equity incentive plans totaled $1.1 billion in 2008 compared to $3.1 billion in 2007, as a result of a lower volume of employee exercises of stock options. Our dividend payment was $3.1 billion in 2008, higher than the $2.6 billion in 2007, due to increases in quarterly cash dividends per common share. On January 23, 2009, our Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.14 per common share for the first quarter of 2009.

The lower cash used in financing activities in 2007 compared to 2006 was primarily due to an increase in proceeds from the sale of shares through employee equity incentive plans and a decrease in repurchases and retirement of common stock.