One thing for sure, at least they aren't STUPID in making Google Glass. As much attention as that POS was/is making, I think it's going to flop. I don't think products will be that successful when it's already getting banned at public places BEFORE it actually starts selling. :-)
Glass has strategic value: it earns Google vital "geek cred" with the slashdotters. That and perpetuating the "open" myth.
Having seen and used the Mac Pro in real life in a Mac shop a few weeks ago, I would argue that that was their last major product, engineering-wise.
I agree that the new MP is a game changer for desktops, but it's still a desktop. A hell of a computer no doubt.
But how often do u deal with stuff through out the day and say "man, if only Apple can make this and do it right"? I say it a lot, there's so much they can move into. There's blips on the radar but jeez, the whole waiting approach gets annoyingly frustrating at some point.
Who gives a **** what the big institutional investors think? My only concern is who's making the best products, and it sure isn't Samsung or Dell or Sony or HP or any of the others in this sector. And I'm not sure what the "next big thing" could possibly be. Wearable computing? Yawn. Something in the TV area? Yawn. Just keep pushing the envelope of portable and hand-held IT equipment and associated software, and I'll be able to do what I want to do. Toys I don't need.
Glass has strategic value: it earns Google vital "geek cred" with the slashdotters. That and perpetuating the "open" myth.
I think the only people that have really done anything because of Glass was it gave the media something to write about. I always thought people would get their Glass stolen from them. There was a recent article about how a journalist got his Google Glass stolen and then destroyed. I though that would have happened a lot sooner and more often.
Oh well, at least I know it's one device I will never buy. Yeah, it's novelty/fad product.
Who gives a **** what the big institutional investors think? My only concern is who's making the best products, and it sure isn't Samsung or Dell or Sony or HP or any of the others in this sector. And I'm not sure what the "next big thing" could possibly be. Wearable computing? Yawn. Something in the TV area? Yawn. Just keep pushing the envelope of portable and hand-held IT equipment and associated software, and I'll be able to do what I want to do. Toys I don't need.
Well, every Apple employee is most likely a shareholder, and a lot of working class people have their retirement money with a lot of these institutional investors with their 401K or some kind of investment program. Do you own any mutual funds? If so, many of the better ones have a significant investment in Apple stock, so a LOT of people actually own Apple stock either directly or indirectly through a mutual fund or some sort of retirement program like what a lot of State and Federal employees have, so it's part of our economy and how people can retire when they get at that age.
Apple does need to diversify into what they see are new growth areas. Sure, they need to keep up the pace with what they already have, but they can certainly go after new growth markets wether it's the auto industry, SmartTVs, TV boxes, wearables, etc. etc.
Before the iPad, we didn't have anything similar to that at that size, but Apple kind of made tablet computing a reality for a lot of us, that was their insight. Now they have to look at that next big new trend in computing.
Who gives a **** what the big institutional investors think? My only concern is who's making the best products, and it sure isn't Samsung or Dell or Sony or HP or any of the others in this sector. And I'm not sure what the "next big thing" could possibly be. Wearable computing? Yawn. Something in the TV area? Yawn. Just keep pushing the envelope of portable and hand-held IT equipment and associated software, and I'll be able to do what I want to do. Toys I don't need.
I don't know if you are aware, but the SmartTV market has grown tremendously over the past few years. SmartTVs are growing at a very fast rate and it's bound to quadruple and Apple isn't in this market, yet Google/Samsung/Vizio/Sony, etc. are. If Apple got at LEAST a 1080p line of TVs in the $1500 to $3500 price range and were able to make decent profit margins, which they could since it wouldn't cost Apple that much to add the functionality, they could easily capture 10% of that market very quickly. That could represent BILLIONS in added revenue and profits and it would OBVIOUSLY migrate the other products Apple currently sells, so it would be adding more functionality to what we already have if we own Apple products. They could at least do 1080p now and then 4K when it becomes a little more relevant as more 4K content becomes available and prices for panels come down.
The biggest problems these other TV mfg have is they cater to a wider audience which includes the dumb TVs that essentially make no profit. A 32in TV that sells for $250 makes almost nothing. All they use it for is to dump cheap panels to people to gain their "market share", which is similar to what Samsung does in the phone market. But Apple's not stupid enough to go for just "market share", they would target a specific market sweet spot where they can play in and make money. They are just nervous because they THINK that people don't replace TVs that often. Well, the problem with that thinking is that applies to dumbTVs, but over the years, people have actually replaced their TVs, on average, more quickly than we used to. I think SmartTVs would eventually become as replaced as computers/tablets since it's more reliant on the computing power and what can be done with faster processors, more RAM, more storage, etc. I still think if done correctly, Apple could DEFINITELY add more gross sales, more profits, and give Apple users more ways to connect their products. Apple just has to go after that money that IS sitting there waiting for Apple. I've seen the Google TVs and I'm not impressed by them, but that's primality because I use Apple products, but that's why Apple has to really hit one out of the park if and when they do enter that market, which I think they should.
Wearables is another market and that's coming, it's just a matter of when and how much they stand to make, but I look at wearables as a fairly necessecery thing if they do it properly. One of the biggest problems companies have is not whether they go into the market or not, but execution. If it's not executed well, then it's a mistake, if executed well, it can pan out for the better.
Another FUD story put to rest with Apple's latest earnings which show just the opposite. Go write your FUD about Microsoft where it belongs, not Apple!
I feel the same way. Their last major product was the ipad. Everything else is just spec bumps. Don't get wrong, I love my apple stuff n I'm a very happy customer, I just wish they would get involved with other stuff n make them better.
Lets not forget the 2013 Mac Pro. Its a major engineering feat and I own one. It is an amazingly fast and compact computer.
Counting issue. Almost 5 months in to the year? Er, um, this is the fourth month. We are 23 days into it. So 3 and 3/4ths months it is now. Yes, we all want the stuff. Glad to know you are also impatient, though--enough to rush your counting along, too!
iPad will flatten out and see margin erosion from competition and lower sales. iPhone will have a huge 2014 boost and maybe 2015 as the mega upgrade to the very late large screen format takes hold. You'll get two more years of sales roughly where they have been in the last two years as iphone goes up but ipad goes down.
After the mega iphone upgrade cycle competition and lack of innovation on iphone along with no needle movers will mean a continued stagnant market cap. Apple will make lots of money but won't do much with it.
The iPad is replacing many Laptops,there are lots more to replace.
The larger screen iPhone moves Apple into a market Samsung has owned. I know many iPhone users who got a Samsung because of the larger screen, but I also know they will switch back to the larger screen iPhone at the end of their contract.
The good news is that Tim Cook recognizes the value of always delivering customer value and leading the customer to places their customers didn't know could exist, much less exist in the grandeur of Apple design excellence.
The true leaders are those who can move us forward with a sense of purpose in the face of uncertainty and doubt and not be swayed by the fat cat naysayers who are looking for a quick fix to their insatiable need for immediate gratification.
Like many I was a bit concerned when Cook took over Apple, without Steve at his side.
However Cook has impressed me many times, he's one of the best business leaders out there!
Hmm, Nasdaq Went up 32% in last 1.5 years, Dow up 24%, Google up 52%, Amazon up 32%, Netflix up 528%, Tesla up 613%, S&P500 up 30%, While Apple down 23%. (Same last 1.5 years)
It was one of the best 1.5 year for Tech stocks in a decade.
It's not fair to compare bad timing of Apple stock with best time in a decade for Tech and overall stock market, but still that argument is not correct. There are reasons for tech stock or any other stock for that matter to go up and down.
Apple performed best from 2004 to 2012 (For that 8 years and beating every other company out there), and there was reason for that as well.
You are taking far to seriously that Apple peak price of $700+ in 2013. That was caused by hedge fund play.
If you take that big peak out, Apple has been on a steady uptrend in price for several years.
As an active investor I don't take any comments or predictions from Wall Street seriously.
They don't even know when they have screwed up their accounting or sold toxic bonds.
They aren't giving good advise to anyone, just trying to fill their pockets in any way they can.
And, how have you done with your investments? Are you happy with the results? I never take all of Wall Street seriously all of the time.
What i do is I look at the various recommendations, I listen to both sides, I look at the trends of past performance of the company's financials as well as the stock price and I kind of go with what FEELS right and sometimes I agree wholeheartedly with some of these analysts, but I did miss one drop in Apple stock. There was at least one or two that were recommending to sell the stock and this was right when it peaked and then it went down to about $400 a share. So sometimes, you have to listen to some of them, even if you don't agree with them. But you have to realize are you in it for the short term or long term. What your aversion to risk, etc. Apple stock has had a great run for over 12 years and I see that run has been leveling off, even though I think it could be doing better. Some analysts are consistently full of crap, some aren't. But there are signs to look for that could mean a significant drop and sometimes it has to do with how the rest of the market is going since it's had it's ups and downs, so sometimes, it's not the company, it's just that the market shifts into pull back mode due to things outside of one company. Remember the repeated market corrections? Right now, I'm a little nervous as to that right now. It's reaching some highs and there are plenty of people that are expecting another market correction, but they don't know when, they are just really being careful not to just dump money in stocks. Some people take the day trader mindset and some take the long term (SEVERAL years), a lot of these analysts are projecting for the next 6 to 12 months, but you may be looking at the stock for a 3 to 5 year run, so that might be a difference in your opinions. I like to look at long term AND within the next 12 months.
Yes and what hard products did Google manufacture? They give away Android and Web services to spy on all of us.
Ha ha. That comment made my morning ride to the office. Thank you.
Google business model, novel in its scale, was their strength. It is now a poison that is slowly killing them. An ocean liner sinks slower than a rowing boat and for a long while you don't see anything above the water line.
Software value is overrated and cloud companies inflated by Wall Street who deal with air and wind.
The real value lies in hardware and/or a combination of hardware/software. Just check EMC, NetApp, Cisco, Juniper, etc.: perhaps not making waves but going along. People want to own things: a car, a PC, a tablet, a phone, a watch, and so on. If it was possible most people would love to show off their Mercedes or Lexus, 27" iMac or MacBook Pro, Bang & Olufsen sound system, Royal Doulton crockery (if you're English), and the list goes on. Nobody really cares about showing off their new Google map, Office 365 interface, or Facebook's messenger.
One day the bubble will burst, just like with the banking system, and everyone will realise how inflated some companies value is -- those selling 'wind' and mainly ads.
Comments
Glass has strategic value: it earns Google vital "geek cred" with the slashdotters. That and perpetuating the "open" myth.
But how often do u deal with stuff through out the day and say "man, if only Apple can make this and do it right"? I say it a lot, there's so much they can move into. There's blips on the radar but jeez, the whole waiting approach gets annoyingly frustrating at some point.
Glass has strategic value: it earns Google vital "geek cred" with the slashdotters. That and perpetuating the "open" myth.
I think the only people that have really done anything because of Glass was it gave the media something to write about. I always thought people would get their Glass stolen from them. There was a recent article about how a journalist got his Google Glass stolen and then destroyed. I though that would have happened a lot sooner and more often.
Oh well, at least I know it's one device I will never buy. Yeah, it's novelty/fad product.
Who gives a **** what the big institutional investors think? My only concern is who's making the best products, and it sure isn't Samsung or Dell or Sony or HP or any of the others in this sector. And I'm not sure what the "next big thing" could possibly be. Wearable computing? Yawn. Something in the TV area? Yawn. Just keep pushing the envelope of portable and hand-held IT equipment and associated software, and I'll be able to do what I want to do. Toys I don't need.
Well, every Apple employee is most likely a shareholder, and a lot of working class people have their retirement money with a lot of these institutional investors with their 401K or some kind of investment program. Do you own any mutual funds? If so, many of the better ones have a significant investment in Apple stock, so a LOT of people actually own Apple stock either directly or indirectly through a mutual fund or some sort of retirement program like what a lot of State and Federal employees have, so it's part of our economy and how people can retire when they get at that age.
Apple does need to diversify into what they see are new growth areas. Sure, they need to keep up the pace with what they already have, but they can certainly go after new growth markets wether it's the auto industry, SmartTVs, TV boxes, wearables, etc. etc.
Before the iPad, we didn't have anything similar to that at that size, but Apple kind of made tablet computing a reality for a lot of us, that was their insight. Now they have to look at that next big new trend in computing.
Who gives a **** what the big institutional investors think? My only concern is who's making the best products, and it sure isn't Samsung or Dell or Sony or HP or any of the others in this sector. And I'm not sure what the "next big thing" could possibly be. Wearable computing? Yawn. Something in the TV area? Yawn. Just keep pushing the envelope of portable and hand-held IT equipment and associated software, and I'll be able to do what I want to do. Toys I don't need.
I don't know if you are aware, but the SmartTV market has grown tremendously over the past few years. SmartTVs are growing at a very fast rate and it's bound to quadruple and Apple isn't in this market, yet Google/Samsung/Vizio/Sony, etc. are. If Apple got at LEAST a 1080p line of TVs in the $1500 to $3500 price range and were able to make decent profit margins, which they could since it wouldn't cost Apple that much to add the functionality, they could easily capture 10% of that market very quickly. That could represent BILLIONS in added revenue and profits and it would OBVIOUSLY migrate the other products Apple currently sells, so it would be adding more functionality to what we already have if we own Apple products. They could at least do 1080p now and then 4K when it becomes a little more relevant as more 4K content becomes available and prices for panels come down.
The biggest problems these other TV mfg have is they cater to a wider audience which includes the dumb TVs that essentially make no profit. A 32in TV that sells for $250 makes almost nothing. All they use it for is to dump cheap panels to people to gain their "market share", which is similar to what Samsung does in the phone market. But Apple's not stupid enough to go for just "market share", they would target a specific market sweet spot where they can play in and make money. They are just nervous because they THINK that people don't replace TVs that often. Well, the problem with that thinking is that applies to dumbTVs, but over the years, people have actually replaced their TVs, on average, more quickly than we used to. I think SmartTVs would eventually become as replaced as computers/tablets since it's more reliant on the computing power and what can be done with faster processors, more RAM, more storage, etc. I still think if done correctly, Apple could DEFINITELY add more gross sales, more profits, and give Apple users more ways to connect their products. Apple just has to go after that money that IS sitting there waiting for Apple. I've seen the Google TVs and I'm not impressed by them, but that's primality because I use Apple products, but that's why Apple has to really hit one out of the park if and when they do enter that market, which I think they should.
Wearables is another market and that's coming, it's just a matter of when and how much they stand to make, but I look at wearables as a fairly necessecery thing if they do it properly. One of the biggest problems companies have is not whether they go into the market or not, but execution. If it's not executed well, then it's a mistake, if executed well, it can pan out for the better.
Another FUD story put to rest with Apple's latest earnings which show just the opposite. Go write your FUD about Microsoft where it belongs, not Apple!
I feel the same way. Their last major product was the ipad. Everything else is just spec bumps. Don't get wrong, I love my apple stuff n I'm a very happy customer, I just wish they would get involved with other stuff n make them better.
Lets not forget the 2013 Mac Pro. Its a major engineering feat and I own one. It is an amazingly fast and compact computer.
Counting issue. Almost 5 months in to the year? Er, um, this is the fourth month. We are 23 days into it. So 3 and 3/4ths months it is now. Yes, we all want the stuff. Glad to know you are also impatient, though--enough to rush your counting along, too!
iPad will flatten out and see margin erosion from competition and lower sales. iPhone will have a huge 2014 boost and maybe 2015 as the mega upgrade to the very late large screen format takes hold. You'll get two more years of sales roughly where they have been in the last two years as iphone goes up but ipad goes down.
After the mega iphone upgrade cycle competition and lack of innovation on iphone along with no needle movers will mean a continued stagnant market cap. Apple will make lots of money but won't do much with it.
The iPad is replacing many Laptops,there are lots more to replace.
The larger screen iPhone moves Apple into a market Samsung has owned. I know many iPhone users who got a Samsung because of the larger screen, but I also know they will switch back to the larger screen iPhone at the end of their contract.
One more thing he forgot to mention was that Apple started dividends in 2012...therefore adding cash to those existing shareholders.
Yes my investment account loves those significant Apple dividends!
Here's a thought. Why doesn't Wall Street just go f*ck themselves. This is getting so old it's covered in moss....
As an active investor I don't take any comments or predictions from Wall Street seriously.
They don't even know when they have screwed up their accounting or sold toxic bonds.
They aren't giving good advise to anyone, just trying to fill their pockets in any way they can.
The good news is that Tim Cook recognizes the value of always delivering customer value and leading the customer to places their customers didn't know could exist, much less exist in the grandeur of Apple design excellence.
The true leaders are those who can move us forward with a sense of purpose in the face of uncertainty and doubt and not be swayed by the fat cat naysayers who are looking for a quick fix to their insatiable need for immediate gratification.
Like many I was a bit concerned when Cook took over Apple, without Steve at his side.
However Cook has impressed me many times, he's one of the best business leaders out there!
Hmm, Nasdaq Went up 32% in last 1.5 years, Dow up 24%, Google up 52%, Amazon up 32%, Netflix up 528%, Tesla up 613%, S&P500 up 30%, While Apple down 23%. (Same last 1.5 years)
It was one of the best 1.5 year for Tech stocks in a decade.
It's not fair to compare bad timing of Apple stock with best time in a decade for Tech and overall stock market, but still that argument is not correct. There are reasons for tech stock or any other stock for that matter to go up and down.
Apple performed best from 2004 to 2012 (For that 8 years and beating every other company out there), and there was reason for that as well.
You are taking far to seriously that Apple peak price of $700+ in 2013. That was caused by hedge fund play.
If you take that big peak out, Apple has been on a steady uptrend in price for several years.
Lets not forget the 2013 Mac Pro. Its a major engineering feat and I own one. It is an amazingly fast and compact computer.
Also it's selling well, by my observation of of seeing business people carrying one or even two out of the Apple store.
I wouldn't know what to do with it's very high power, else I'd get one.
Big Beat!
I sat out on this earnings, but congrats to all the APPL longs!
Thx, I delayed selling a few more shares recently.
Now I have to reevaluate my positions and forecast.
Apple EPS up 15% while the media and wall street sweetheart Google increased EPS by 1%.
No growth?
My asss
Google made $5 profit per share at $530 share price
Apple made $11 profit per share at $530 share price
Yes and what hard products did Google manufacture? They give away Android and Web services to spy on all of us.
As an active investor I don't take any comments or predictions from Wall Street seriously.
They don't even know when they have screwed up their accounting or sold toxic bonds.
They aren't giving good advise to anyone, just trying to fill their pockets in any way they can.
And, how have you done with your investments? Are you happy with the results? I never take all of Wall Street seriously all of the time.
What i do is I look at the various recommendations, I listen to both sides, I look at the trends of past performance of the company's financials as well as the stock price and I kind of go with what FEELS right and sometimes I agree wholeheartedly with some of these analysts, but I did miss one drop in Apple stock. There was at least one or two that were recommending to sell the stock and this was right when it peaked and then it went down to about $400 a share. So sometimes, you have to listen to some of them, even if you don't agree with them. But you have to realize are you in it for the short term or long term. What your aversion to risk, etc. Apple stock has had a great run for over 12 years and I see that run has been leveling off, even though I think it could be doing better. Some analysts are consistently full of crap, some aren't. But there are signs to look for that could mean a significant drop and sometimes it has to do with how the rest of the market is going since it's had it's ups and downs, so sometimes, it's not the company, it's just that the market shifts into pull back mode due to things outside of one company. Remember the repeated market corrections? Right now, I'm a little nervous as to that right now. It's reaching some highs and there are plenty of people that are expecting another market correction, but they don't know when, they are just really being careful not to just dump money in stocks. Some people take the day trader mindset and some take the long term (SEVERAL years), a lot of these analysts are projecting for the next 6 to 12 months, but you may be looking at the stock for a 3 to 5 year run, so that might be a difference in your opinions. I like to look at long term AND within the next 12 months.
Ha ha. That comment made my morning ride to the office. Thank you.
Google business model, novel in its scale, was their strength. It is now a poison that is slowly killing them. An ocean liner sinks slower than a rowing boat and for a long while you don't see anything above the water line.
Software value is overrated and cloud companies inflated by Wall Street who deal with air and wind.
The real value lies in hardware and/or a combination of hardware/software. Just check EMC, NetApp, Cisco, Juniper, etc.: perhaps not making waves but going along. People want to own things: a car, a PC, a tablet, a phone, a watch, and so on. If it was possible most people would love to show off their Mercedes or Lexus, 27" iMac or MacBook Pro, Bang & Olufsen sound system, Royal Doulton crockery (if you're English), and the list goes on. Nobody really cares about showing off their new Google map, Office 365 interface, or Facebook's messenger.
One day the bubble will burst, just like with the banking system, and everyone will realise how inflated some companies value is -- those selling 'wind' and mainly ads.