Apple stock hits $700 for first time in after-market trading - Page 2

You, and a lot of others, so don't feel alone. I was thinking of selling when it hit $200, right before the recession was known. A very small number of us here were saying that the recession had already begun in the beginning of 2008, but no one believed us. Turned out we were correct. If I weren't persuaded otherwise, I would have sold, and then I could have bought back at $80. Ah, the shame of it!

Well, that's what happens when you listen to others.

As Cramer says though; "There is never a bad time to invest in Apple."

I agree. Sure, we'll see temporary dips, but the long trend is up. And now, with the dividend, it's sweeter. The dividend is low, by a percentage standard, but will increase regularly. That's something we can be pretty certain of.

That's all very true. But it's from what we know. It's what we don't know that could change it. IF Apple comes out with the iPad Mini. IF Apple comes out with a Tv. IF Apple comes out with an auto control system. IF...etc.

The Apple of today is because of things we didn't know before they were presented to us. I'm reading why entering the Tv business isn't a good idea for Apple:

Mature industry.

Established players.

Apple never made a Tv.

Has no relationships with cable companies and content providers.

Cost of entry is too high.

Have we heard all of this before?

I wouldn't yet count out a new spurt of growth unrelated to their present main product bases.

 

You're jumping on a fad that won't be remembered at the turn of next decade.

I read a financial article recently that said that about half of all iPads sold, were bought by business. Half! Over a million were bought in the education market last quarter, more than double YOY. At the same time, there were 1.64 million Windows machines sold there, and 520,000 Macs. A 10% drop in Windows sales, and a 4% increase in Mac sales.

These are just two bits of information, but there are many more, such as Mac sales increasing in business over the past year by 56%, where Windows computer sales fell 10%.

Everywhere you look, things are up. Even diminishing iPod sales maintain their over 70% marketshare.

Uh uh..... If something like that happened, as far as I am concerned (and speaking for myself), it would be a buy-more-and-hold opportunity of a lifetime. I might even consider leveraging myself to do that.

(The real question you want to ask is, what happens to the value of the rest of your portfolio? What alternatives would you have, other than a pillow?)

Microsoft is mostly Office and Windows. If you include server versions of Windows, which is in another division. Then they have software tools. They also have a commercial database.

Then, of course, they have the entertainment division, which was merged with the small devices division (keyboards, mice, etc.). They have a couple of other smaller areas as well such as the online division, mostly Bing.

Google is an Ad placement agency. They just happen to have their own places in which to place those Ads. As recently as two quarter's ago, before they had to combine Motorola's statements with their own, 97% of their gross and 97% of their net (profit) was derived from advertising, according to their balance sheet.

I don't think so. They'll be around for a while. I'm just waiting until the right time. We'll see. It's not that much of an investment to matter.

Spot on. That's not counting the opportunities in India, China, healthcare, automobiles, living room,...... to name just a few of the more obvious ones!

Most people don't understand just how entrenched iPads have become in the business sector. Two reasons why the Mac didn't make it big in business:

One was that they came out two and a half years after the IBM PC. By then, there was a ton of business software out, and the IBM brand was irresistible.

Two was that SJ and his "computer as an appliance" was years ahead of its time, and back then, when computer sales were driven 90% by business, the appliance idea wasn't inviting, nor was the 9" screen.

But now, everything is different. IBM is out, the all-in-one is the biggest selling category of desktop personal computers to consumers, who are more than 50% of the computer buying public, and they're making inroads in business as well. Apple's all-in-one sales lead the industry.

Apple's notebooks have the biggest marketshare in the US, at least. And are growing very well. We all remember the days when it was thought that laptops were a waste, because they weren't powerful enough to do any "real"work on.


Now it's the iPad that has a three year advantage, and it's moving into businesses faster than the original PC did. There is a vast amount of business software available, much of it that will never be seen in the App Store by most people because it exists in the private business stores Apple allows organizations to set up. Much of this software is custom, just as there is much Windows custom software.

And this has to make Microsoft cringe, as one major reason business hasn't moved off Microsoft over the years was because of all of that custom software.

And then, of course, there are the millions, even tens of million of business employees who are finding, to their surprise, that they don't need Office after all! This will be a major problem for Microsoft, as it is the only real reason they are telling people they will want Win 8 tablets, even though you need a keyboard and trackpad to use them for Office, and that includes the RT version as well.

La de da!

The iPhone is pushing out RIM and Microsoft in corporate phones. In fact, I recently read an article in Infoworld where it was said that just allowing people to bring in iPhones to work wasn't exactly a BYOD concept. But that's what's happening. And Apple just made it even better for corporations with "app lock". This is a sign that Apple is becoming more enterprise friendly, and that's a good thing.

 

If I recall correctly, it was Larry Ellison who was pushing the computer as "appliance" idea. No?

He was pushing something like that. But don't forget that SJ and Ellison were very good friends, and so where do you think he got the idea from?

So the other part of the story goes like this:  

After wasting away for 2 years in depression and anger, I finally just let it go in a dramatic way that was really heartfelt. Within 2 weeks of that letting go moment I got a call from the cross-town Apple Reseller rival of my old company. They wanted to sell and they were really in a financial bind, so I could get it dirt cheap, which was great because I didn't have any disposable income. I would have to take a second mortgage out on my home. And that's exactly what I did. This was back in the spring of 2004, just before Apple would begin the most incredible comeback in business history. But I had my own comeback to accomplish and I dug right in. Long story short, after 8.5 years in business, my store blows that other store out of the water in almost every way. The ironic twist to this story -- my former partners were approached before I was and given the first opportunity to buy that cross-town rival store, but they laughed and turned it down. That's the second time they did me a huge favor without meaning to.

 

Apple has been the most amazing good-luck charm in my life.

 

 

 

 

 

Great story (both halves), thanks for sharing. Sure makes me curious about what city you're in, but I understand if you don't want to share that.

South Dakota. That narrows it down quite a bit.

From nine years ago it split: so actually you'd be at 1.4x over a millionaire

Ah, I can tell you that being a millionaire isn't what it used to was.

 

Tell me about it:  http://blogs.wsj.com/wallet/2009/01/28/the-buying-power-of-a-dollar-on-a-downswing/

 

From the link:  "...the purchasing power of the dollar has decreased by more than 95% since 1913."

Think about Vanderbilt's fortune in the late 1870‘s was $340 million. That was an inconceivable amount at the time, and including inflation, would have him at the top today.

When the Standard Oil Trust reached $1 billion, in 1901, I think it was, that was like reaching a trillion today.

My home was worth in the low $30 thousands during the mid fifties, I've been told. I don't even even want to say what it's worth today with inflation, you might not believe it! Even going from 1984, when we bought it, inflation, and other things, I suppose, have had it go up almost eight times.

This is a great little site, too bad he hasn't updated it since 2010, though I suppose there are others like it.

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/