UBS declares Tim Cook the 'right man for the time' at Apple
While some pundits question whether Tim Cook can steer Apple to new successes in a post-Steve Jobs era, investment firm UBS on Monday came out in full support of the Apple CEO, calling him the "right man for the time."
Following the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference this month, analyst Steve Milunovich said he believes Apple is gaining steam under Cook, who is remaking it under his own vision. In a note to investors on Monday, a copy of which was provided to AppleInsider, he praised Cook for taking Apple in new directions that may be better suited for a company of its current size.
The analyst noted that in a meeting with Cook, the CEO told him that he felt a need to merge leadership of the company's formerly disparate iOS and OS X teams. Doing so would assure further cooperation -- something that Milunovich believes is being done on an even greater scale within Apple, improving the company's efficiency and potentially making it better at developing new products simultaneously.
Milunovich also praised Cook for not being beholden to what he called "spreadsheet-driven decisions." He believes Apple remains focused on making the best products for consumers, regardless of the return on investment, which has led to "remarkable new market innovation success."
Some on Wall Street and elsewhere remain concerned that Apple may not be able to innovate or adapt as quickly under the leadership of Cook. To those critics, Cook has not yet shown that he can introduce the company's "next big thing," following up on the successful introductions of the iPod, iPhone and iPad, all of which were unveiled under the leadership of Jobs. Many of those sentiments were reiterated in a profile on Cook published Sunday by The New York Times, which again questioned when Apple's next new product category will be introduced.
Milunovich, however, doesn't share those concerns.
"We think Cook-doubters will be proven wrong," he said.
UBS has maintained its "buy" rating for AAPL stock, with a 12-month price target of $100 per share. The firm expects Apple to have a blockbuster second half of 2014, when it predicts the company will debut a so-called "iWatch" wrist-worn smart device.
Following the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference this month, analyst Steve Milunovich said he believes Apple is gaining steam under Cook, who is remaking it under his own vision. In a note to investors on Monday, a copy of which was provided to AppleInsider, he praised Cook for taking Apple in new directions that may be better suited for a company of its current size.
The analyst noted that in a meeting with Cook, the CEO told him that he felt a need to merge leadership of the company's formerly disparate iOS and OS X teams. Doing so would assure further cooperation -- something that Milunovich believes is being done on an even greater scale within Apple, improving the company's efficiency and potentially making it better at developing new products simultaneously.
Milunovich also praised Cook for not being beholden to what he called "spreadsheet-driven decisions." He believes Apple remains focused on making the best products for consumers, regardless of the return on investment, which has led to "remarkable new market innovation success."
Some on Wall Street and elsewhere remain concerned that Apple may not be able to innovate or adapt as quickly under the leadership of Cook. To those critics, Cook has not yet shown that he can introduce the company's "next big thing," following up on the successful introductions of the iPod, iPhone and iPad, all of which were unveiled under the leadership of Jobs. Many of those sentiments were reiterated in a profile on Cook published Sunday by The New York Times, which again questioned when Apple's next new product category will be introduced.
Milunovich, however, doesn't share those concerns.
"We think Cook-doubters will be proven wrong," he said.
UBS has maintained its "buy" rating for AAPL stock, with a 12-month price target of $100 per share. The firm expects Apple to have a blockbuster second half of 2014, when it predicts the company will debut a so-called "iWatch" wrist-worn smart device.
Comments
Wow! UBS declared that?
Must be true then....
Surprising that analysts don't put the same pressure on Samsung to innovate.
Give analysts a little credit. They know Samsung doesn’t innovate, they wait for innovation then ‘borrow’ it. They didn’t develop Android, they use it because it’s mostly free. Their hardware always reflects what others have done that was successful.
I would agree with this.
He has ensured "Best in Class" in retail, OS, mobile OS, desktops, laptops, phones, iPads, etc., etc.
Steve, on the other hand, was the greatest visionary and entrepreneur ever.
The best following act to an iconic CEO was Robert Iger after Michael Eisner. Iger was thought of us this efficient but dull and unimaginative keep-the-trains-running-on-time guy who will, at best, keep Disney from deteriorating any further. Sounds a lot like what people said about Tim Cook, eh? Well Iger turned out to be a great CEO, acquiring Pixar, reviving Disney's animated films, bought Marvel, etc. When he took over, DIS was hovering around the 20s for 5 years, it's in the 80's today.
I said Iger was the best following act to a superstar CEO. Until Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs, that is.
In before troll start trying to draw parallels between “Right man for our time” and “Peace for our time”.
Samsung's current success isn't based on innovation; it's based on their proven ability to be a "fast follower."
"Later this year, we've got the best product pipeline that I've seen in my 25 years at Apple."
Apple is going to slap and spit on all the haters faces very nicely. Hehe. Can't wait!
I'd say there have been two significant missteps, neither of which will be repeated. Browett was the first.
The second was announcing the Haswell iMac before it was available and not offering preorders in the interim. They literally went an entire quarter without selling their most popular desktop computer. No one but Apple could have done that, but no one–even Apple–should do that.