This consumer electronics business is one of the most finicky and competitive. They must move into some diversification. Look at past major players, like SONY for example. Get into content, and other tangential businesses that will provide annuity and projectable income. You sell a phone or a computer and that revenue stops. You sell a subscription or provide continuous content and the advertising dollars continue to fill the coffers. Razors and razor blades.
Apple (AAPL -0.7%) rises slightly as David Einhorn makes his case for a preferred stock distribution (webcast). Einhorn imagines Apple issuing one or more "iPrefs" with a face value of $50 to shareholders for each common share owned. Each iPref would pay a $0.50/share quarterly dividend, and would be publicly traded. The iPrefs would yield more than Microsoft and IBM's long-term debt, and the Fed's zero interest rate policy "creates enormous demand for safe income," Einhorn argues. (live blog) [View news story]
I want Apple to get into content that will attract billions in advertising. They must diversify into non electronics businesses. They've set the style for others to "classically" copy, as so many Korean companies have done with cars and electronics so boldly forever. The Apple model requires it to pioneer new directions. Well... others are catching up, copying and being aggressive. Buy a network! Buy a major studio, or multiples of each. Create annuity income that creates a new golden goose. Get stable so us investors don't have to watch the stock like a toddler who is inching precariously to the staircase.
Apple's Earnings Fall Is Completely Unjustified [View article]
Would like to see Apple buy something blockbuster with that cash horde. I'd go for content makers. Buy NBC or a major movie studio. There's only so much hardware people will buy, and so many $600 phones. Get in the advertising revenue business where advertisers will throw money at you.
Apple's Earnings Fall Is Completely Unjustified [View article]
Wish you'd put the heart of the story at the top and worked it down. Everyone's got to read too much to get to the good stuff. Readers today don't take the time for long stories.
More on Apple: iPhone and Mac sales below expectations, iPads roughly in-line. FQ1 gross margin was 38.6%, down 510 bps Y/Y but above guidance of 36% and responsible for EPS beat. FQ2 gross margin guidance of 37.5%-38.5%. Exc. retail, Americas sales +15% Y/Y (was +43% in FQ4), Europe +11% (+8% prior), Japan +25% (+113% prior), Greater China +67%, rest of Asia-Pac +10%. Retail +5%. Cash/investment balance at $137B. AAPL -4.8% AH. CC at 5PM ET (webcast). (PR) [View news story]
Apple... learn this philosophy =>.... Under promise and over perform.
More on Apple: iPhone and Mac sales below expectations, iPads roughly in-line. FQ1 gross margin was 38.6%, down 510 bps Y/Y but above guidance of 36% and responsible for EPS beat. FQ2 gross margin guidance of 37.5%-38.5%. Exc. retail, Americas sales +15% Y/Y (was +43% in FQ4), Europe +11% (+8% prior), Japan +25% (+113% prior), Greater China +67%, rest of Asia-Pac +10%. Retail +5%. Cash/investment balance at $137B. AAPL -4.8% AH. CC at 5PM ET (webcast). (PR) [View news story]
Any other company makes these numbers and the stock goes through the roof. Expectations are just ridiculous for Apple. And they need to learn how to project more accurately. One penny under and the stock tanks.
The Numbers Say: Expect An iPhone Blowout [View article]
In the case of Apple, rumors are treated by the investment community these days as fact until proven otherwise, unfortunately. Someone can sneeze in a distant part of the world and the snot reverberates to Wall St. The rumor today is there may finally be a larger screen iPhone, something the company has woefully failed to introduce last year allowing Samsung to grab OBVIOUS market share, an egregious failure and unforgivable as it was highly predictable that the market is demanding it. Now others are catching up and Apple is having to work doubly hard to regain what it stupidly lost.
On cue, Apple's (AAPL -2.8%) sell-side fans are defending it following reports of iPhone component order cuts due to weaker-than-expected demand. UBS, one of the first to report of production cuts, says it detects no change to iPhone orders since December, though it worries shares could be pressured near-term. Wells Fargo notes Apple's 65M-unit iPhone 5 display order (per The Nikkei) was "an unrealistic number to begin with." JPMorgan says it only forecast 25M calendar Q1 iPhone 5 builds regardless. Notable Calls: "This sure feels like capitulation, doesn't it?" [View news story]
You read one report of declined orders which drops the stock, and right under is a headline "Apple Likely to Crush Analyst Estimates w/ 53 Million Q1 iPhone Shipments.
If Apple Isn't Investing In Apple, Should You? [View article]
You need to get out more mr. reporter. And read up on what Apple is doing before you report on what it's not doing. Did you not see the news that they are looking at US manufacturing, an act that will the tipping point for others to follow. And R&D investments are huge. Perhaps you should try needle point.
While other firms (I, II) are lowering their iPhone and regular iPad forecasts, NPD claims Apple (AAPL -3.7%) has more than doubled its iPad Mini display panel orders to 12M+ (presumably to AUO and LPL) to meet strong demand. Moreover, NPD thinks the Mini could account for half of 2013 iPad shipments, which it pegs at 100M+. The difference between the Mini's size (0.68 lbs. and 0.28" thick) and the 4th-gen iPad's (1.44 lbs. and 0.37") is hard to ignore here. Separately, Digitimes reports Apple is working on a second-gen Mini that's lighter still, and will sport a better display. [View news story]
More on the iPhone and its component suppliers: Jefferies' Peter Misek says contract manufacturer checks indicate suppliers have seen big order cuts in the last 24-48 hours thanks to ongoing production constraints. He thinks the iPhone 5's build rate is currently at 15M units/month, with a goal of reaching 20M/month in January. Misek his cutting his iPhone and gross margin forecasts for Apple (AAPL -3.4%), but believes demand is strong and that the Chinese launch may be muted due to bad weather and Apple's insistence on pre-ordering to prevent riots. (previous: I, II) [View news story]
Why can't you and anyone else get this right? Just two days ago stories came out saying orders were up, everything was strong. This AAPL reporting reminds me of the news on how one day coffee is great for you, the next how it's bad for you, the next how it's good for you.
A downbeat note from Macquarie's Daniel Chang could be contributing to today's Apple (AAPL -2.1%) selloff. Chang, who covers Taiwanese names and is downgrading Foxconn (HNHAF.PK) to Neutral, has lowered his FQ1 (Dec. quarter) iPhone sales forecast to 44M from 48M, and his FQ2 forecast to 26M from 28M. Gene Munster, however, is his usual upbeat self: he notes Piper's latest survey of potential U.S. smartphone buyers found 53.3% thinking of getting an iPhone 5; an October survey reported 54.9%. [View news story]
And in the meantime every other "analyst" is giving AAPL a BUY and touting the amazing profits and projections.
Statement by Apple [View article]
Apple (AAPL -0.7%) rises slightly as David Einhorn makes his case for a preferred stock distribution (webcast). Einhorn imagines Apple issuing one or more "iPrefs" with a face value of $50 to shareholders for each common share owned. Each iPref would pay a $0.50/share quarterly dividend, and would be publicly traded. The iPrefs would yield more than Microsoft and IBM's long-term debt, and the Fed's zero interest rate policy "creates enormous demand for safe income," Einhorn argues. (live blog) [View news story]
Apple's Earnings Fall Is Completely Unjustified [View article]
Apple's Earnings Fall Is Completely Unjustified [View article]
Apple's Earnings Fall Is Completely Unjustified [View article]
More on Apple: iPhone and Mac sales below expectations, iPads roughly in-line. FQ1 gross margin was 38.6%, down 510 bps Y/Y but above guidance of 36% and responsible for EPS beat. FQ2 gross margin guidance of 37.5%-38.5%. Exc. retail, Americas sales +15% Y/Y (was +43% in FQ4), Europe +11% (+8% prior), Japan +25% (+113% prior), Greater China +67%, rest of Asia-Pac +10%. Retail +5%. Cash/investment balance at $137B. AAPL -4.8% AH. CC at 5PM ET (webcast). (PR) [View news story]
More on Apple: iPhone and Mac sales below expectations, iPads roughly in-line. FQ1 gross margin was 38.6%, down 510 bps Y/Y but above guidance of 36% and responsible for EPS beat. FQ2 gross margin guidance of 37.5%-38.5%. Exc. retail, Americas sales +15% Y/Y (was +43% in FQ4), Europe +11% (+8% prior), Japan +25% (+113% prior), Greater China +67%, rest of Asia-Pac +10%. Retail +5%. Cash/investment balance at $137B. AAPL -4.8% AH. CC at 5PM ET (webcast). (PR) [View news story]
The Numbers Say: Expect An iPhone Blowout [View article]
On cue, Apple's (AAPL -2.8%) sell-side fans are defending it following reports of iPhone component order cuts due to weaker-than-expected demand. UBS, one of the first to report of production cuts, says it detects no change to iPhone orders since December, though it worries shares could be pressured near-term. Wells Fargo notes Apple's 65M-unit iPhone 5 display order (per The Nikkei) was "an unrealistic number to begin with." JPMorgan says it only forecast 25M calendar Q1 iPhone 5 builds regardless. Notable Calls: "This sure feels like capitulation, doesn't it?" [View news story]
If Apple Isn't Investing In Apple, Should You? [View article]
If Apple Isn't Investing In Apple, Should You? [View article]
If Apple Isn't Investing In Apple, Should You? [View article]
While other firms (I, II) are lowering their iPhone and regular iPad forecasts, NPD claims Apple (AAPL -3.7%) has more than doubled its iPad Mini display panel orders to 12M+ (presumably to AUO and LPL) to meet strong demand. Moreover, NPD thinks the Mini could account for half of 2013 iPad shipments, which it pegs at 100M+. The difference between the Mini's size (0.68 lbs. and 0.28" thick) and the 4th-gen iPad's (1.44 lbs. and 0.37") is hard to ignore here. Separately, Digitimes reports Apple is working on a second-gen Mini that's lighter still, and will sport a better display. [View news story]
More on the iPhone and its component suppliers: Jefferies' Peter Misek says contract manufacturer checks indicate suppliers have seen big order cuts in the last 24-48 hours thanks to ongoing production constraints. He thinks the iPhone 5's build rate is currently at 15M units/month, with a goal of reaching 20M/month in January. Misek his cutting his iPhone and gross margin forecasts for Apple (AAPL -3.4%), but believes demand is strong and that the Chinese launch may be muted due to bad weather and Apple's insistence on pre-ordering to prevent riots. (previous: I, II) [View news story]
A downbeat note from Macquarie's Daniel Chang could be contributing to today's Apple (AAPL -2.1%) selloff. Chang, who covers Taiwanese names and is downgrading Foxconn (HNHAF.PK) to Neutral, has lowered his FQ1 (Dec. quarter) iPhone sales forecast to 44M from 48M, and his FQ2 forecast to 26M from 28M. Gene Munster, however, is his usual upbeat self: he notes Piper's latest survey of potential U.S. smartphone buyers found 53.3% thinking of getting an iPhone 5; an October survey reported 54.9%. [View news story]