mayfly

Xed said:

mayfly said:

jdw said:

mayfly said:

jdw said:

carnegie said:

Apple's market cap has already, based on yesterday's closing price of $191.17, fallen below $3 trillion because of the updated outstanding share count that we got. That updated count took about $18 billion off of Apple's market cap.

The fall continues, with it now trading at $181.99 only two days after your post. 

I wanted to see how does that measure up against the stock performance on the 5-7 year timeline financial planners recommend for retail clients when purchasing equities. Quite well, actually. July 29, 2016 Price (split adjusted): $21.60. Friday close: $181.99. That is an 840% increase in seven years (That's 120%/year!) If you followed the advice of a typical financial adviser, you'd have prospered. Selling at this point would be a inadvisable for a long-term investor. The current dividend is 96¢/year. That makes your yield on that $21.60 you paid for it 4.6%.That's on top of the stock's gain. If you had reinvested those dividends in more shares, well do your own math, that's too hard for me, since the dividend changes almost every quarter. You wouldnt have student debt if you bought 100! If you still believe in a stock, why sell it. If you don't, why keep it? I'm a believer.

BTW: Apple's largest shareholder is right now? Hint: Warren Buffett. He knows a thing or two about long term investing.

All excellent points.  But there's no need to convince me.  My first purchase of AAPL was in 1999, and I've purchased more since then, never having sold a since share to date.

Furthermore, I invested a small amount in BRKB almost exactly 1 year ago today.  Despite the current drop in the stock market, my total gain for BRKB stands at 15.12%.  No dividend, but the gain is nothing to sneeze at.  Made no sense I was going around talking positively about what Warren Buffet was saying and doing, and there I was without any of his Berkshire Hathaway stock. My purchase of the stock changed that.  It was a good buy.

With that said, don't overlook the obvious.  I first purchased a small amount of McDonald's stock in 2011.  As of today, it stands at a 232% gain.  The same amount invested in BRKB in 2011 would have yielded a 191% gain.  Both are great gains, but MCD comes out ahead. (Even further when you consider MCD pays a dividend.)  But no wonder...  McDonald's has the Big "Mac"!  

Glad that's worked out so well for you! My wife told me 30 years ago that we should buy BRKA. I asked how much, and she said something like $17,000. I said "no way! He's so old. What happens to that stock if he dies? Well you know that story. It closed at $533,600.00 Friday. She stopped asking me after that. She bought Ulta when she saw a line of customers from age 16-80. That was ten years ago. She bought Lululemon when they had the problem with the see-through tights. Moral of the story, listen to the wife. 

LOL Sounds like a good plan. Even I want to listen to your wife.

She seems to invest with the same logic I tell people to invest with when they ask me. Go for companies you love and you see as being extremely popular. I would've invested in Lululemon, too, if I would've seen a huge line of people with such a wide age range. I will also parrot a bit of JDW's comment about MCD. It's not a sexy stock to own, but it's been an excellent one. Overall very stable and with quarterly dividends it's a nice pay day 4x a year.

muthuk_vanalingam said:

charlesn said:

Now that the tools and instructions are available, I'd love to know the stats on what percentage of iPhone users are self-repairing their own phones. Wait, let me rephrase: I'd love to know what tiny fraction of 1% of iPhone users are doing this. There's a reason that companies like Radio Shack and Heathkit, which catered to the "electronics hobbyist" crowd, went out of business decades ago: their customer base died off and wasn't replaced by a new generation. Time, for the vast majority of people, is worth money... and expending that time/money to repair something they likely have no experience repairing--while also risking the cost of replacing the device they're repairing if they screw up--is a really bad investment vs the cost of having Apple or a repair shop do it. Let's do the math:

Replace iPhone 13 or earlier battery at Apple Store: $89. Done by appointment or while you wait. Leave immediately with a guaranteed new Apple battery and working phone.

Self-replace iPhone 13 battery with iFixIt kit: $40 + $9 shipping (5-10 business days til you receive it--higher shipping prices if you want it sooner.) Initial savings: $40. Kit includes 7 different tools needed to replace the battery, plus a non-OEM battery. If you manage to do the job in 2.5 hours and not screw up your phone in the process, congratulations: you will have paid yourself the minimum hourly wage in many states. Oh: even if you do the job 100% right, your battery health utility will never work again--that's per the iFixIt warning. And if you don't do it right and have to bring your phone in for repairs that won't be covered by warranty? Or maybe don't get the adhesives sealed properly and drop your phone in the water where it will leak? That's all on your dime and will cost you the equivalent of many battery replacements by Apple. 

This is nonsensical on multiple levels. USA is NOT the entire world. Apple has customers not just in USA, but rest of the world as well. The important questions to be asked are:
1. What percentage of Apple users do NOT have easy access to Apple stores in the entire world?
2. Among them, how many of them did NOT have an option to get their iPhones repaired with the help of 3rd party technicians (with the necessary expertise to perform a battery replacement in an iPhone) with OEM parts?
3. How many of Apple's customers were forced to go for shady battery replacements because Apple stores do not exist in their area and Apple did not provide OEM parts for even skilled 3rd party technicians to perform battery replacements.
4. If Apple store access is ultra-critical to user experience, should Apple STOP selling iPhones in areas/countries where Apple stores do NOT exist? If not, should Apple instruct its hard-core fans to stop criticizing others who do not have easy access to Apple stores when they raise valid issues?

ralphabet said:

bobolicious said:

I find myself asking how they will keep the floor clean...?

I was thinking the same thing... white floors?