chas_m

Perfect example of how Trump cannot think (nor think things through). Does he seriously believe that only Apple makes electronics in China? So he'll be forcing all the other brands to make there in the US as well. Not that this clown is going to make it through the primaries, mind you, but it's pretty obvious he hasn't thought for even a single second what that would do to the price of all electronics. For once, however, I can say with confidence that this is not because he is stupid. It's because he is showing everyone, as he constantly does, that he is rich and doesn't care about YOU. Trump's not stupid ... it's anyone who supports him and isn't a multi-millionaire that's stupid.

Apple's success in China does not account for that giant discrepancy entirely, however. The other factor not really mentioned in this summary, but supported by numerous other studies, is simply that iOS users tend pay for their apps because they use them a lot; Android users tend to prefer free apps and resist in-app purchases, and appear to use them very little (except for games). More revenue = more developers = better and more apps.

sog35 said:

This is the kind of CRAP that really pisses me off.

So Tim Cook has the time to fly all the way to Italy to meet with the Pope. How the hell does that help the company or shareholders? He waste his time on this crap.

Yet Cook has no time to address supply chain rumors that have been festering for almost TWO MONTHS!  Shareholders and employees and retirees have lost over $250 billion in wealth because of these supply chain rumors have been allowed to spread unchecked. Pisses me off.  Mr Cook please spend your time doing what we are paying you $100,000,000 a year for: protect Apple's image and name.

Wow, there's so much ignorance in this post it's hard to know where to start, but: Cook was already in Europe to meet with the head of the EC regarding the Ireland tax situation -- so doing exactly what you claim he should be doing. Second, you have no idea what the Pope and Cook talked about. Could have been something like talking about where tech donations would do the most good, or discussing how to modernize the Vatican systems -- or maybe the Pope is a secret Roll Tide fan, who knows. Point is, you definitely don't. Third, you do know that the stock market goes up or down (and these days, mostly down) completely without manipulation by Apple or Cook, right? Oh wait, probably you don't. You're probably a day trader who needs AAPL to fund your retirement within the next six weeks or you won't be able to pay bills. Finally, Cook doesn't make $100M a year -- his salary is $10M. He gets stock option bonuses that MAY be worth a huge amount of money LATER (though at the moment, not worth as much as the once were, and not that you'd have a clue what stock options are but hint: not free money) but one look at the balance sheet would suggest he earns every penny and then some.

sog35 said:

NY1822 said:

Let me guess, you're the same guy who when he gets pulled over for speeding says to cop "shouldn't you catching the murderer instead of pulling people over?"

No. I'm the guy that expects a CEO who gets paid $100,000,000 to do his job instead of wasting time at the Superbowl.  The stock is in a state of crisis and instead of going on tv/media to calm the fears he goes to the Superbowl. makes me sick.

Great! So you're selling your stock and sodding off (sorry, sogging off) then. Good. Please don't let the door hit you on the way out, and hopefully you won't have noticed that the stock is up 25 percent, but you clearly don't "get" Apple and think of it as "just a stock" so it's clearly not the stock for you. Maybe you should check out that go-go Amazon stock!

cash907censored said:

And if I owned stock in Exxon, I'd care. I don't. This is Apple, not Exxon. Stay on topic. 

He is on topic. He's comparing two roughly similar-sized companies, both of which consistently deliver their product and are the market leaders. The point you missed is two-fold: first, lots of established companies are down because of market manipulation, and second, there's absolutely nothing -- literally nothing -- Tim Cook can do about it. There's a lot an SEC with balls could do, but we evidently don't have one of those. Tim Cook isn't in charge of the stock market, and he's not even in charge of AAPL. You know he mostly gets paid in stock right? That means he suffers a tangible financial penalty (both in terms of the value of his stock and how much stock he is awarded) when AAPL doesn't do well, even if its through absolutely no fault of his own as is quite clearly the case here. So certainly if he could resort to cheap tricks to raise AAPL he would, but he can't. So the logical approach is to keep focusing on what Apple *actually* does (instead of blow investors as you seem to think it exists to do); keep making great products and don't worry about the stock, as it will probably sort itself out. The only thing that crosses Tim Cook's mind -- ever -- that has directly to do with AAPL is when it is a good time to buy back a ton of it. Like now, for example. Apple (the company) benefits when AAPL goes down, and it benefits with AAPL goes up. But when a CEO becomes focused on the stock rather than the company, the products, and most importantly the customers -- that's when a company becomes awful (Facebook and Google, perfect examples). I'll take a CEO that continues to emphasize the customer experience over giving a toss about the shareholders -- it's the right and most Steve Jobs thing to do.