The major difference between Amazon stock and Apple stock is opportunity for growth. Apple's market cap is absolutely massive, even with the drop it's still the world's biggest and hitting resistance =/= bad as most people here seem to think it is.
AppleInsider said: In other words, while sales of new iPhones didn't increase year over year, growth of Apple's iPhone user base continued, fueled by the strongest influx ever of Android switchers.
RE: Near term GROWTH
Recently, iPhone/iPad hardware is not exceptionally better than competition.
I'd say that Switchers from Android increasing because of the all-in-one ecosystem that only Apple can provide. So Apple's future MUST include improved UX in the form of iTunes (i.e. replace it!), Home Kit, cloud services and apps.
This is where near term growth will come from. It is from switchers and monetizing services.
The only exception to the above is China....that market has been gobbling up iPhones because it's still a relatively new market and Apple products are still sexy/fashionable. Growth in China may slow.
Subtle "innovation" will help to sustain iPhone/iPad delight. But really, how much more innovation can occur?
...until the next BIG hardware release which I think (other than improved Apple Watch) will be a one person or two person autonomous city electric vehicle.
The doom&gloom reporting helps long-term Apple investors because it allows Apple to make cheap stock repurchases, and it makes the company unattractive to know-nothing gamblers, while making fortunes to those who predict/orchestrate and ride Apple's stock price cycles.
It's Wall Street, it's about making money, not about fairness or proper valuations; if you want that, buy Berkshire-Hathaway stock.
The challenge for Apple now is how do you keep everyone on the upgrade cycle every year?
But wouldn't that same question be applicable for every other company too?
You could just as easily say "The challenge for Samsung/LG/Xiaomi now is how do you keep everyone on the upgrade cycle every year?"
The truth is... however... no one expects people to upgrade their phones yearly. And for the most part... they don't. While there may be pockets of superfans who buy new phones every year... they are the distant minority. As important as smartphones are... they do not get replaced that often... iPhone or otherwise.
So we have this: a person may only buy a new smartphone once every 2 or 3 years.... but people buy smartphones every day. There is always someone who is looking for a new phone. And companies need to have new models available when those people are ready to purchase.
Apple didn't make the iPhone 6S for iPhone 6 owners. And Samsung didn't make the Galaxy S7 for Galaxy S6 owners either. And this idea isn't limited to just phones. Vizio releases new TVs every year... HP and Dell release new laptops every year... and so on. But no one expects people to replace any of those item on a yearly schedule.
But, again, those new models must exist for when people do start shopping for a new phone, TV, laptop, etc.
Absolutely, it applies to all companies that rely on selling phones. Apple is just most affected because it has the most income from phones. The market is going to remain huge, few that have a cell phone now are ever going to do without one, and people do buy at different cycle rates, but I think for just about anybody that cycle rate is lowering. I used to buy a new phone yearly as the upgrades from one model to the next were very compelling, then it became 2 years, now I've had my current phone nearly two years, look at what's out there, and really don't see a compelling need to upgrade.
Apple's iPhone 6 was a very compelling upgrade because it offered a larger screen. The 7 is going to be a pretty key indicator for Apple because it has to compel those that bought a 7 last year to upgrade. In the early years, there were far more new users than existing ones, nowadays someone going in and buying their first cellphone is something of a freakish oddity. The good news for users is that phones of pretty much all brands have gotten so good they remain good for a long time. That's not necessarily good news for the people selling them.
Comments
RE: Near term GROWTH
Recently, iPhone/iPad hardware is not exceptionally better than competition.
I'd say that Switchers from Android increasing because of the all-in-one ecosystem that only Apple can provide. So Apple's future MUST include improved UX in the form of iTunes (i.e. replace it!), Home Kit, cloud services and apps.
This is where near term growth will come from. It is from switchers and monetizing services.
The only exception to the above is China....that market has been gobbling up iPhones because it's still a relatively new market and Apple products are still sexy/fashionable. Growth in China may slow.
Subtle "innovation" will help to sustain iPhone/iPad delight. But really, how much more innovation can occur?
...until the next BIG hardware release which I think (other than improved Apple Watch) will be a one person or two person autonomous city electric vehicle.
The doom&gloom reporting helps long-term Apple investors because it allows Apple to make cheap stock repurchases, and it makes the company unattractive to know-nothing gamblers, while making fortunes to those who predict/orchestrate and ride Apple's stock price cycles.
It's Wall Street, it's about making money, not about fairness or proper valuations; if you want that, buy Berkshire-Hathaway stock.
Apple's iPhone 6 was a very compelling upgrade because it offered a larger screen. The 7 is going to be a pretty key indicator for Apple because it has to compel those that bought a 7 last year to upgrade. In the early years, there were far more new users than existing ones, nowadays someone going in and buying their first cellphone is something of a freakish oddity. The good news for users is that phones of pretty much all brands have gotten so good they remain good for a long time. That's not necessarily good news for the people selling them.