That's crazy. The Burj Khalifa only cost about $1.5 billion U.S. and at least that is something really spectacular to see. So much for Tim Cook's BS about treating every penny as it was their last. They'd better have a particle accelerator under that thing in order to justify that outrageous cost. $5 billion??? Now that seems like a waste of shareholder money because I don't see what they'll get back from it. It's a fine-looking building, but do they really need something that fancy.
Still, as long as Apple increases my dividends, I guess they can do whatever they want whether I understand their reasons or not. As an investor, would I kill the plan? Probably not. $5 billion is a drop in the bucket for Apple since they earn twice that much cash every quarter. This building's cost would not stop Apple from carrying out any other plan if they chose to do so. I've never been involved in any of Apple's other decisions, so there's no point in getting in a huff over this one. If it will help make Apple employees more productive, then go for it.
The additional costs are less than 2 percent of Apples cash hoard. So What!
Dangerous thinking, my friend. Having a lot of cash doesn't mean you are allowed to squander it all away. This is exactly a reason why I, as an investor, don't like corporations keeping too much cash on hand. They will fall into the mindset of "we have too much, this amounts to nothing". They will build corporate jets, pay for expensive retreats, or overpay on acquisitions (think Microsoft). I prefer that company keeps a good amount of cash, say $50B, for capital projects, R&D and acquisitions, and distribute the rest to investors. With their cash hoard near $150B now, you've gotta admit it's more than they need to run their operations.
Who the heck budgeted this thing? If I gave an estimate of three bucks and it turned out to be five, no sweat. But if one was looking to spend 3 billion and it turned out to be $5 billion??? That's some serious scratch!
I don't know how many projects of this size actually are done within estimated budget.
The project seems amazing, I hope they spend 10 billion on it. I love how these dumb a holes in the media continue to think they have anything meaningful to contribute in their discussion of apple. By the time the campus is done, apple will have half a trillion in the bank.
The project seems amazing, I hope they spend 10 billion on it. I love how these dumb a holes in the media continue to think they have anything meaningful to contribute in their discussion of apple. By the time the campus is done, apple will have half a trillion in the bank.
I can certainly help with that. I coincidently started today an apricot tree relocation service. Only $180,000 per tree.
Having a lot of experience with construction I'd wager that it's not so much a result of poor initial estimates but ideas changes by Apple that have constantly inflating costs and causing delays.
I fully concur with that.
A new building proposal is never fully costed at the outset with the exception of design and build turnkey projects and multiple unit factory built production line projects such as housing where repetition keeps costs in check.
This sort of one-off design has to be negotiated through many regulatory frameworks starting with the local authorities, planning, health and safety, engineering, services...you name it, they all have a part to.ay in cost over-runs and delays. Add in unknown site clearance problems(formerly HP buildings), Apple inspired changes, architectural impossibilities that must be engineered around(this one can be a killer), inflation, increases in labour costs, insurance, new regulations and the inevitable 'Doh...we didn't see that coming!' mea culpas and a 50% cost increase is not impossible.
Everything here is a one-off and I can't see Apple wanting to cut corners at any price. The source article is and will be the first of many such pieces of FUD emanating from agenda driven outlets.
Apple increases their profits by $13 Billion dollars in one quarter and you fuss because the Campus is going to cost 5 instead of 3. Ridiculous!! Apple increasing the budget to $5B is like me upsizing my combo in drive-thru. I hope Tim Cook continues the vision for this world-class campus for this world-class company.
Apple increases their profits by $13 Billion dollars in one quarter and you fuss because the Campus is going to cost 5 instead of 3. Ridiculous!! Apple increasing the budget to $5B is like me upsizing my combo in drive-thru. I hope Tim Cook continues the vision for this world-class campus for this world-class company.
The finance department at Microsoft is calling you.
Who the heck budgeted this thing? If I gave an estimate of three bucks and it turned out to be five, no sweat. But if one was looking to spend 3 billion and it turned out to be $5 billion??? That's some serious scratch!
Yes, but 5B to Apple is nothing, they make over that every two months.
Significant savings can be achieved if they plant new apricot trees in the middle of spaceship rather than relocated fully grown trees. AI reported that each tree would cost $60K to relocate. If I, as an investor, were given a vote on the matter, I would kill that plan.
They money wouldn't be going to you, though. I think it's money we'll spent and it shows how Apple thinks different.
Apple increases their profits by $13 Billion dollars in one quarter and you fuss because the Campus is going to cost 5 instead of 3. Ridiculous!! Apple increasing the budget to $5B is like me upsizing my combo in drive-thru. I hope Tim Cook continues the vision for this world-class campus for this world-class company.
Apple's $13.1 billion in net profits last quarter is averages to $4.3 billion per month. That means it would it's a drive thru meal that costs more than 5 weeks of profits to pay for and about 2 weeks of profits just for the combo upsize.
If one makes, say, $25 hour and an upsized combo meal is $8 then to be apropos to your example I round up (your favour) to a half hour of work to have enough proft for this drive-thru meal. By my calculations that comes out to $126.7 million for the entire meal and at a 40% just for the combo upsize that's $50.7 million dollars over budget to eliminate any hyperbole with your example.
That's crazy. The Burj Khalifa only cost about $1.5 billion U.S. and at least that is something really spectacular to see.
I think this Apple campus will be the most beautiful corporate headquarters in the world. It's poetic in its beauty. No taxes in Dubai. The Burj is amazing is pure epic size/height, but it's not as beautiful as, say, The Empire State Building.
Say what you want but I love this circular building. The circle is the most beautiful shape in existence.
Dangerous thinking, my friend. Having a lot of cash doesn't mean you are allowed to squander it all away. This is exactly a reason why I, as an investor, don't like corporations keeping too much cash on hand. They will fall into the mindset of "we have too much, this amounts to nothing". They will build corporate jets, pay for expensive retreats, or overpay on acquisitions (think Microsoft). I prefer that company keeps a good amount of cash, say $50B, for capital projects, R&D and acquisitions, and distribute the rest to investors. With their cash hoard near $150B now, you've gotta admit it's more than they need to run their operations.
It seems clear to me that Jobs' intimations of his own mortality overlapped somewhere in the conception and design of the new campus - and while it should be a functional structure, its aesthetic overspeccing is a metaphorical pyramid/memorial ("seamless," "all curved," the heartwood of specific maples, the transplantation of mature trees [to look "finished" as soon as built], etc.).
The analogies to both government and corporate overreach are equally apt. New York is officially (and once was in actuality) "the Empire State," and as it sinks in a sea of debt, although it was already past its apex at the time, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller gave birth to the Albany Mall, a towering futurist campus to house the burgeoning bureaucracies now helping drag it under in a world where it's increasingly difficult to compete with more "lean and hungry" nations (and states for that matter).
And that campus is both a) still impressive, b) ludicrously out of place in the town of Albany and c) emblematic of a status New York state once, but no longer has - partially because of exactly the "it's only a few billion, so what?" attitude that passes for debate on public spending, e.g., "We can do this (and this and this and this and....), we're frikkin' America!"
The best description I read, then or now, and which applies here, as many smart and hard-working companies and people simply don't lie down and leave the production of new personal digital products to Apple, is that Rockefeller had "an edifice complex."
As soon as anyone or any organization begins to assume their place in the pecking order and scheme of things is secure and worthy of immortalization, with hubris still one of the "seven deadly sins" and pride still going before falls, it almost always already isn't anymore.
First, as others have said, big projects like this almost always have underestimated budgets.
Second, come on people. It's not like everyone on this thread has never splurged on a one-time purchase. It's not like Apple is buying OMGPop for $183,000,000 because they made one successful casual iPhone app (cough, Zinga) or buying Palm for $1,200,000,000 (hack, HP) or buying Yammer for... oh you get the picture.
Apple is investing in a new company headquarters and this real estate will have REAL value, business value, as well as perceived value. This cannot be compared to some slippery slope for bonehead exorbant purchases. That is unless Apple decides to build a headquarters in each country it has a presence in.
Apple's $13.1 billion in net profits last quarter is averages to $4.3 billion per month. That means it would it's a drive thru meal that costs more than 5 weeks of profits to pay for and about 2 weeks of profits just for the combo upsize.
If one makes, say, $25 hour and an upsized combo meal is $8 then to be apropos to your example if round up (your favour) to a half hour of work to have enough proft for this drive-thru meal. By my calculations that comes out to $126.7 million for the entire meal and at a 40% just for the combo upsize that's $50.7 million dollars over budget to eliminate any hyperbole with your example.
Comments
Still, as long as Apple increases my dividends, I guess they can do whatever they want whether I understand their reasons or not. As an investor, would I kill the plan? Probably not. $5 billion is a drop in the bucket for Apple since they earn twice that much cash every quarter. This building's cost would not stop Apple from carrying out any other plan if they chose to do so. I've never been involved in any of Apple's other decisions, so there's no point in getting in a huff over this one. If it will help make Apple employees more productive, then go for it.
The Burj construction labor and costs have a lot more in common with the Great Pyramids of Giza than with Apple's new campus.
Also note it's estimated Apple has already spent about 1/2 billion dollars on just the property.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacHarry de
The additional costs are less than 2 percent of Apples cash hoard. So What!
Dangerous thinking, my friend. Having a lot of cash doesn't mean you are allowed to squander it all away. This is exactly a reason why I, as an investor, don't like corporations keeping too much cash on hand. They will fall into the mindset of "we have too much, this amounts to nothing". They will build corporate jets, pay for expensive retreats, or overpay on acquisitions (think Microsoft). I prefer that company keeps a good amount of cash, say $50B, for capital projects, R&D and acquisitions, and distribute the rest to investors. With their cash hoard near $150B now, you've gotta admit it's more than they need to run their operations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rot'nApple
Who the heck budgeted this thing? If I gave an estimate of three bucks and it turned out to be five, no sweat. But if one was looking to spend 3 billion and it turned out to be $5 billion??? That's some serious scratch!
I don't know how many projects of this size actually are done within estimated budget.
I can certainly help with that. I coincidently started today an apricot tree relocation service. Only $180,000 per tree.
A new building proposal is never fully costed at the outset with the exception of design and build turnkey projects and multiple unit factory built production line projects such as housing where repetition keeps costs in check.
This sort of one-off design has to be negotiated through many regulatory frameworks starting with the local authorities, planning, health and safety, engineering, services...you name it, they all have a part to.ay in cost over-runs and delays. Add in unknown site clearance problems(formerly HP buildings), Apple inspired changes, architectural impossibilities that must be engineered around(this one can be a killer), inflation, increases in labour costs, insurance, new regulations and the inevitable 'Doh...we didn't see that coming!' mea culpas and a 50% cost increase is not impossible.
Everything here is a one-off and I can't see Apple wanting to cut corners at any price. The source article is and will be the first of many such pieces of FUD emanating from agenda driven outlets.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
I can certainly help with that. I coincidently started today an apricot tree relocation service. Only $180,000 per tree.
Just to remind you... this is not a military contract.
Quote:
Originally Posted by swaylon
Apple increases their profits by $13 Billion dollars in one quarter and you fuss because the Campus is going to cost 5 instead of 3. Ridiculous!! Apple increasing the budget to $5B is like me upsizing my combo in drive-thru. I hope Tim Cook continues the vision for this world-class campus for this world-class company.
The finance department at Microsoft is calling you.
Working environment is important, if you're surrounded by perfection you're more likely to try and create perfection I think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rot'nApple
Who the heck budgeted this thing? If I gave an estimate of three bucks and it turned out to be five, no sweat. But if one was looking to spend 3 billion and it turned out to be $5 billion??? That's some serious scratch!
Yes, but 5B to Apple is nothing, they make over that every two months.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zoffdino
Significant savings can be achieved if they plant new apricot trees in the middle of spaceship rather than relocated fully grown trees. AI reported that each tree would cost $60K to relocate. If I, as an investor, were given a vote on the matter, I would kill that plan.
They money wouldn't be going to you, though. I think it's money we'll spent and it shows how Apple thinks different.
Apple's $13.1 billion in net profits last quarter is averages to $4.3 billion per month. That means it would it's a drive thru meal that costs more than 5 weeks of profits to pay for and about 2 weeks of profits just for the combo upsize.
If one makes, say, $25 hour and an upsized combo meal is $8 then to be apropos to your example I round up (your favour) to a half hour of work to have enough proft for this drive-thru meal. By my calculations that comes out to $126.7 million for the entire meal and at a 40% just for the combo upsize that's $50.7 million dollars over budget to eliminate any hyperbole with your example.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Constable Odo
That's crazy. The Burj Khalifa only cost about $1.5 billion U.S. and at least that is something really spectacular to see.
I think this Apple campus will be the most beautiful corporate headquarters in the world. It's poetic in its beauty. No taxes in Dubai. The Burj is amazing is pure epic size/height, but it's not as beautiful as, say, The Empire State Building.
Say what you want but I love this circular building. The circle is the most beautiful shape in existence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ascii
Working environment is important, if you're surrounded by perfection you're more likely to try and create perfection I think.
If your surroundings are inspiring you'll be inspired.
It seems clear to me that Jobs' intimations of his own mortality overlapped somewhere in the conception and design of the new campus - and while it should be a functional structure, its aesthetic overspeccing is a metaphorical pyramid/memorial ("seamless," "all curved," the heartwood of specific maples, the transplantation of mature trees [to look "finished" as soon as built], etc.).
The analogies to both government and corporate overreach are equally apt. New York is officially (and once was in actuality) "the Empire State," and as it sinks in a sea of debt, although it was already past its apex at the time, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller gave birth to the Albany Mall, a towering futurist campus to house the burgeoning bureaucracies now helping drag it under in a world where it's increasingly difficult to compete with more "lean and hungry" nations (and states for that matter).
And that campus is both a) still impressive, b) ludicrously out of place in the town of Albany and c) emblematic of a status New York state once, but no longer has - partially because of exactly the "it's only a few billion, so what?" attitude that passes for debate on public spending, e.g., "We can do this (and this and this and this and....), we're frikkin' America!"
The best description I read, then or now, and which applies here, as many smart and hard-working companies and people simply don't lie down and leave the production of new personal digital products to Apple, is that Rockefeller had "an edifice complex."
As soon as anyone or any organization begins to assume their place in the pecking order and scheme of things is secure and worthy of immortalization, with hubris still one of the "seven deadly sins" and pride still going before falls, it almost always already isn't anymore.
Apple ignores this at its own peril.
Maybe Jony can 'flatten' the design?
Second, come on people. It's not like everyone on this thread has never splurged on a one-time purchase. It's not like Apple is buying OMGPop for $183,000,000 because they made one successful casual iPhone app (cough, Zinga) or buying Palm for $1,200,000,000 (hack, HP) or buying Yammer for... oh you get the picture.
Apple is investing in a new company headquarters and this real estate will have REAL value, business value, as well as perceived value. This cannot be compared to some slippery slope for bonehead exorbant purchases. That is unless Apple decides to build a headquarters in each country it has a presence in.
Last time I use metaphors in replying to you!