chano's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/250465/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/177450-apple-3-reasons-not-to-fear-the-fluctuating-stock-price?source=feed#comment-799257 799257 There is so much riding on this, expect a few surprise WOW factors]]> Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:45:02 -0500 There is so much riding on this, expect a few surprise WOW factors]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/177328-why-the-magazine-industry-wants-its-own-app-store?source=feed#comment-798561 798561 The game has changed. It all started when CDs were introduced and people learned how to rip them. Apple and iTunes are the only viable route to monetisation of media IP. Although traditional news will struggle and die because they had their pockets picked by invitation. Who can put that particular genie back into the bottle? Only Apple can achieve even a partial success here because the battle has really been lost on news.]]> Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:02:51 -0500 The game has changed. It all started when CDs were introduced and people learned how to rip them. Apple and iTunes are the only viable route to monetisation of media IP. Although traditional news will struggle and die because they had their pockets picked by invitation. Who can put that particular genie back into the bottle? Only Apple can achieve even a partial success here because the battle has really been lost on news.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/176443-dell-claims-its-new-mobile-workstation-is-world-s-most-powerful?source=feed#comment-794327 794327 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:22:32 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/173584-it-s-a-large-world-after-all?source=feed#comment-764176 764176 Why do you, and so many others, think that they understand mobile phone marketing strategies better than the immensely savvy marketing group at Apple? So far, they haven't put a foot wrong in this global challenge dance.
I am not trying to be sarcastic but what market intelligence do you have that Apple is unaware of?]]> Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:33:30 -0500 Why do you, and so many others, think that they understand mobile phone marketing strategies better than the immensely savvy marketing group at Apple? So far, they haven't put a foot wrong in this global challenge dance.
I am not trying to be sarcastic but what market intelligence do you have that Apple is unaware of?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/173492-apple-to-open-50-more-stores-let-s-be-careful-steve?source=feed#comment-762197 762197 Carl Howe is an exception I must say, but then he doesn't write unless he has something to say that is worth hearing.]]> Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:15:57 -0500 Carl Howe is an exception I must say, but then he doesn't write unless he has something to say that is worth hearing.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/173531-the-power-of-instant-approval?source=feed#comment-762137 762137 Fool, for wasting my valuable time.
I gave you the benefit of the doubt. You failed.
Another loser on Seeking Alpha.]]> Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:48:01 -0500 Fool, for wasting my valuable time.
I gave you the benefit of the doubt. You failed.
Another loser on Seeking Alpha.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/168534-the-ebook-wars-what-publishers-should-do?source=feed#comment-755451 755451 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:40:47 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/67596-apple-s-iphone-dev-kit-that-s-how-you-launch-a-platform?source=feed#comment-755428 755428 tilled, seeded, watered and fertilised ... indeed. And what a bumper crop Mr. Howe.
No one else saw that coming and all we got from the analysts and media was a loud chorus of naysaying.]]> Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:32:17 -0500 tilled, seeded, watered and fertilised ... indeed. And what a bumper crop Mr. Howe.
No one else saw that coming and all we got from the analysts and media was a loud chorus of naysaying.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/171908-motorola-s-droid-comes-in-peace-for-now?source=feed#comment-755411 755411 Of course, it helps that Apple has a superb pedigree and an unmatched reputation for quality, support and user-centricity.
btw
Welcome back Carl. You are the chief reason for my visiting SA.
Please do consider a regular personal blog. You will gather a following.]]> Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:22:07 -0500 Of course, it helps that Apple has a superb pedigree and an unmatched reputation for quality, support and user-centricity.
btw
Welcome back Carl. You are the chief reason for my visiting SA.
Please do consider a regular personal blog. You will gather a following.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/172765-while-rivals-jockey-for-market-share-apple-bathes-in-profits?source=feed#comment-755356 755356 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:50:23 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/168163-volatility-driving-microsoft-trades?source=feed#comment-725424 725424 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:51:42 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/168165-when-the-going-gets-tough-the-tough-get-an-apple?source=feed#comment-725416 725416 When you're right sir, you are right, as Jeremy might say.]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:47:50 -0400 When you're right sir, you are right, as Jeremy might say.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/167644-apple-not-all-smooth-sailing-ahead?source=feed#comment-725375 725375 Which other tech company can match even one of these threads of customer-centricity?
Hint: You won't need even one finger to count them.]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:27:07 -0400 Which other tech company can match even one of these threads of customer-centricity?
Hint: You won't need even one finger to count them.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/162237-apple-set-to-double-again?source=feed#comment-722962 722962 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:37:45 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/167597-apple-s-hoard?source=feed#comment-722509 722509
You are becoming truly yawn-worthy and it gives me no pleasure to tell you that.

Chandra Coomaraswamy]]> Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:48:08 -0400
You are becoming truly yawn-worthy and it gives me no pleasure to tell you that.

Chandra Coomaraswamy]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/167644-apple-not-all-smooth-sailing-ahead?source=feed#comment-722506 722506 To say 'What makes a stock great is a price' is nonsense. It is about the scope of its future operations and that seems to have little to do with Macs, iPods and phones.
Even visionaries will visit an optician fttt.
You are no visionary but you do need to have your eyes tested.

Chandra Coomaraswamy]]> Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:44:46 -0400 To say 'What makes a stock great is a price' is nonsense. It is about the scope of its future operations and that seems to have little to do with Macs, iPods and phones.
Even visionaries will visit an optician fttt.
You are no visionary but you do need to have your eyes tested.

Chandra Coomaraswamy]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/162237-apple-set-to-double-again?source=feed#comment-722431 722431
I say this because Jobs will never allow himself to become lazy, comfortable or complacent with Apple's MO and its present arc of ascendancy.

If the Innovator's Dilemma is a factor to insert into the Apple success equation, as Skeptic suggests ... and it is a valid suggestion, then so too must allowance be made for Jobs' influence as the 'Innovator's Solution'. He has been a disruptor and he has been rather spectacularly disrupted by the thief Gates and the wimpish Sculley.

Now,we may all be wowed by Apple's results and its products, and why not my dears - they are wonderful. But that would be to miss the point of focus. Consumers will continue their love affair with Apple for reasons most of them may never understand. The world is falling in consumer-love with Apple. It is a heady experience for them. The thing is, they are just not used to being empowered rather than screwed by a vendor. They don't realise it yet but it is there in their unconscious understanding. That is a raw and very powerful place for any company to position itself so firmly. It affects our paradigm of life as consumers. And we like that soooo much.

I see it like this.

Yes, yes, yes .....the products are great. They call to customers like sexy sirens and appeal as must-have items in most cases. They are the Merc or Omega offering in a market with too many GM and Timex offerings.

But the products are merely the easily visible shell of Apple's strategy for 'never' being disrupted out of business by another, greater, upstart of an innovator. It is less and less about the products my dear bedazzled ones.

The hidden kernel of the Apple strategy is full of goodness. It is about empowering the customer. It is about democratising whole marketplaces. It is about being recognised (in time) and remembered (in perpetuity ... maybe) as the one Company, the ONLY significant champion of the ordinary Joe, to win back for the consumer the power of choice and free access to common wants at a fair price with less and less room for vendors to gouge their customers. What am I talking about?

Excellence in COMPUTING at a fair price to quality ratio. I mean, if you want the Proton car experience, go buy one and don't complain to me later as I wipe your saliva off my Merc.

Liberation of the MUSIC market away from the grasping record companies to the huge benefit of new bands/musicians and giving the consumer back the right to buy only the songs that were wanted, soooo easily and at a fair price.

The same for the MOVIES market in time. Everything from AppleTV to Mac to iPod/iPhone video.

Ditto the domestic GAMES market. AppleTV anyone? !!Danger!! Falling prices!!! Mind-boggling choice!!!!

The same for the PUBLISHING market in 2010 onwards. Newspapers, magazines and books at a rock bottom price because you will buy only the news or articles that interest you and not have to stomach what an editor decides you should HAVE to read. There will be an explosion of new writing by authors who stood no chance of publication under the existing model. Journalists of merit will gather a following of people who will pay for genuine news or informed comment, rather than biased opinion.

The same for the TV VIEWING market in 2015 onwards. Pick the programs you want to watch. New production houses and groups will spring up all over the world. A huge choice of non studio-sourced viewing that is non-homogenized, not dumbed down gutless goo sanctioned by advertisers etc. In short a diversity of content beyond the wildest imaginings.

EDUCATION for all by bringing the best curricula from around the world to a global audience for free or for a small charge. No more student loans anyone? Build your own MBA from Harvard, London INSEAD and Yale whydontcha? Learn to program an iPhone from home. Learn whatever you want, whenever you want at your pace, in your place without going broke.

RETAILING GOODS AND SERVICES Create an app store like marketplace for STUFF. Manufacturers/Providers offer their wares and drop shippers/fulfilment operators do the rest. Prices may tumble.

HEALTHCARE SERVICES
Access to the best professionals, clinics and hospitals without the traditional routing processes and billing roller-coasters that often kill - death by dollars.

And so on.

And so on

You get the picture.

It is a nice picture because it puts you in charge of your choices and the value for money you deserve.

So.... tell me:

How do you disrupt the ace disruptor?

How do you displace the champion of consumer interests?

How do you undermine the one who destroys traditional business models across so many markets to the customer's advantage and completely democratises them in the process?

Amazing Apple.

An American treasure.

I can say that because I am not an American.

I can say that because I have been a customer since 1979.

Thirty years' easy loyalty.

And Apple is just getting started.

Think Different

I rest my case.

Chandra Coomaraswamy]]> Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:48:12 -0400
I say this because Jobs will never allow himself to become lazy, comfortable or complacent with Apple's MO and its present arc of ascendancy.

If the Innovator's Dilemma is a factor to insert into the Apple success equation, as Skeptic suggests ... and it is a valid suggestion, then so too must allowance be made for Jobs' influence as the 'Innovator's Solution'. He has been a disruptor and he has been rather spectacularly disrupted by the thief Gates and the wimpish Sculley.

Now,we may all be wowed by Apple's results and its products, and why not my dears - they are wonderful. But that would be to miss the point of focus. Consumers will continue their love affair with Apple for reasons most of them may never understand. The world is falling in consumer-love with Apple. It is a heady experience for them. The thing is, they are just not used to being empowered rather than screwed by a vendor. They don't realise it yet but it is there in their unconscious understanding. That is a raw and very powerful place for any company to position itself so firmly. It affects our paradigm of life as consumers. And we like that soooo much.

I see it like this.

Yes, yes, yes .....the products are great. They call to customers like sexy sirens and appeal as must-have items in most cases. They are the Merc or Omega offering in a market with too many GM and Timex offerings.

But the products are merely the easily visible shell of Apple's strategy for 'never' being disrupted out of business by another, greater, upstart of an innovator. It is less and less about the products my dear bedazzled ones.

The hidden kernel of the Apple strategy is full of goodness. It is about empowering the customer. It is about democratising whole marketplaces. It is about being recognised (in time) and remembered (in perpetuity ... maybe) as the one Company, the ONLY significant champion of the ordinary Joe, to win back for the consumer the power of choice and free access to common wants at a fair price with less and less room for vendors to gouge their customers. What am I talking about?

Excellence in COMPUTING at a fair price to quality ratio. I mean, if you want the Proton car experience, go buy one and don't complain to me later as I wipe your saliva off my Merc.

Liberation of the MUSIC market away from the grasping record companies to the huge benefit of new bands/musicians and giving the consumer back the right to buy only the songs that were wanted, soooo easily and at a fair price.

The same for the MOVIES market in time. Everything from AppleTV to Mac to iPod/iPhone video.

Ditto the domestic GAMES market. AppleTV anyone? !!Danger!! Falling prices!!! Mind-boggling choice!!!!

The same for the PUBLISHING market in 2010 onwards. Newspapers, magazines and books at a rock bottom price because you will buy only the news or articles that interest you and not have to stomach what an editor decides you should HAVE to read. There will be an explosion of new writing by authors who stood no chance of publication under the existing model. Journalists of merit will gather a following of people who will pay for genuine news or informed comment, rather than biased opinion.

The same for the TV VIEWING market in 2015 onwards. Pick the programs you want to watch. New production houses and groups will spring up all over the world. A huge choice of non studio-sourced viewing that is non-homogenized, not dumbed down gutless goo sanctioned by advertisers etc. In short a diversity of content beyond the wildest imaginings.

EDUCATION for all by bringing the best curricula from around the world to a global audience for free or for a small charge. No more student loans anyone? Build your own MBA from Harvard, London INSEAD and Yale whydontcha? Learn to program an iPhone from home. Learn whatever you want, whenever you want at your pace, in your place without going broke.

RETAILING GOODS AND SERVICES Create an app store like marketplace for STUFF. Manufacturers/Providers offer their wares and drop shippers/fulfilment operators do the rest. Prices may tumble.

HEALTHCARE SERVICES
Access to the best professionals, clinics and hospitals without the traditional routing processes and billing roller-coasters that often kill - death by dollars.

And so on.

And so on

You get the picture.

It is a nice picture because it puts you in charge of your choices and the value for money you deserve.

So.... tell me:

How do you disrupt the ace disruptor?

How do you displace the champion of consumer interests?

How do you undermine the one who destroys traditional business models across so many markets to the customer's advantage and completely democratises them in the process?

Amazing Apple.

An American treasure.

I can say that because I am not an American.

I can say that because I have been a customer since 1979.

Thirty years' easy loyalty.

And Apple is just getting started.

Think Different

I rest my case.

Chandra Coomaraswamy]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/132874-apple-three-battles-won-nicely-positioned-for-the-fourth?source=feed#comment-475383 475383 The market does like premium products eg: Omega, Merc' Benz......
In its market sectors no one offers products of comparable quality.
In computing, no one offers a quality tri-OS capable device.
The iPod Touch is a new class of product-the true HHC/Surfer
The rise of the iPhone cannot be stopped. It's the Apps stupid!
iTunes is still in its infancy. It is a model that can be expanded beyond media sales.
In its markets, Apple software is without competition.
I could say more but you get the idea

]]> Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:59:04 -0400 The market does like premium products eg: Omega, Merc' Benz......
In its market sectors no one offers products of comparable quality.
In computing, no one offers a quality tri-OS capable device.
The iPod Touch is a new class of product-the true HHC/Surfer
The rise of the iPhone cannot be stopped. It's the Apps stupid!
iTunes is still in its infancy. It is a model that can be expanded beyond media sales.
In its markets, Apple software is without competition.
I could say more but you get the idea

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/124210-what-happened-to-dell?source=feed#comment-414552 414552 Boo hoo.]]> Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:15:02 -0500 Boo hoo.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/115748-apple-like-starbucks-and-whole-foods-a-trend-that-s-past-its-prime?source=feed#comment-366644 366644 Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:56:18 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/106957-exploiting-the-downside-of-the-markets?source=feed#comment-311050 311050 Otherwise, quite a good article, if a rehash of widely understood basics.]]> Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:30:21 -0500 Otherwise, quite a good article, if a rehash of widely understood basics.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/106762-nvidia-finally-wins-apple-s-heart?source=feed#comment-310076 310076 Oh you must be talking about Iraq, I guess.
NVDA is tanking again, after a brief blip.
You're an analyst and you come out of hibernation to report a transient blip as significant?
Where I sit, we call transient blips noise.]]> Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:41:10 -0500 Oh you must be talking about Iraq, I guess.
NVDA is tanking again, after a brief blip.
You're an analyst and you come out of hibernation to report a transient blip as significant?
Where I sit, we call transient blips noise.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/105533-chinese-paper-reports-reduced-apple-notebook-orders?source=feed#comment-304027 304027 A good way to ensure supplier integrity is to rotate suppliers every so often or in the event of a serious breach, such s this act of commercial client disloyalty.]]> Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:51:44 -0500 A good way to ensure supplier integrity is to rotate suppliers every so often or in the event of a serious breach, such s this act of commercial client disloyalty.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/104487-apple-s-next-big-content-push?source=feed#comment-299658 299658 I posited the same idea several weeks ago concerning Podolny's extraordinary move to Apple. I was the first to do so at a time when all the so-called experts struggled to understand this inexplicable departure from academia and arrival at Apple.
Jobs may be committed to profit, quelle surprise? So, this is bad?
He is also committed to exceptional value.
Even more, he is committed to democratising content distribution. Lowering the cost of ownership while allowing consumers to choose only the items they want, not a track more. In this way, especially with CD tracks, a lot of wheat is being bought and a lot of the chaff remains, rightly, unsold.
In education, iTunesU provides the same model. Take the content that owners want to publish and sell it for a very low price. It provides Academia with a way to repurpose their content for sale to an otherwise inaccessible market. Each U makes more money than it could imagine from a resource it never thought of repurposing for sale. Apple makes loadsamoney ($3+ billion in 2008 anyone?). Buyers get content of (sometimes) inestimable value for a small outlay.
I would call that Win-Win-Win.
It is possible to make a lot of money doing good and democratising a market like higher Ed.
I can see millions of people lining up to subscribe to such a new service floated out of iTunes and made fully commercial.
Did you say you elsewhere that you were an MBA? Is that for Maximum Bullshit Artist btw?
I would call your article simplistic. I've made the same observation about you before. Hmmm.]]> Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:56:03 -0500 I posited the same idea several weeks ago concerning Podolny's extraordinary move to Apple. I was the first to do so at a time when all the so-called experts struggled to understand this inexplicable departure from academia and arrival at Apple.
Jobs may be committed to profit, quelle surprise? So, this is bad?
He is also committed to exceptional value.
Even more, he is committed to democratising content distribution. Lowering the cost of ownership while allowing consumers to choose only the items they want, not a track more. In this way, especially with CD tracks, a lot of wheat is being bought and a lot of the chaff remains, rightly, unsold.
In education, iTunesU provides the same model. Take the content that owners want to publish and sell it for a very low price. It provides Academia with a way to repurpose their content for sale to an otherwise inaccessible market. Each U makes more money than it could imagine from a resource it never thought of repurposing for sale. Apple makes loadsamoney ($3+ billion in 2008 anyone?). Buyers get content of (sometimes) inestimable value for a small outlay.
I would call that Win-Win-Win.
It is possible to make a lot of money doing good and democratising a market like higher Ed.
I can see millions of people lining up to subscribe to such a new service floated out of iTunes and made fully commercial.
Did you say you elsewhere that you were an MBA? Is that for Maximum Bullshit Artist btw?
I would call your article simplistic. I've made the same observation about you before. Hmmm.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/103841-an-alternative-perspective-on-apple-s-ipod-growth?source=feed#comment-299545 299545
This is a problem that has gone on too long with no analysis, finger-pointing or remedy. Wall Street has always hated Apple as a company. WS is full of reactionary people who cannot dislodge a way of looking at things once a given perception has lodged inside their heads. They cannot learn to look at Apple as it is. They only remember Steve's (perceived) reckless days pre the 90s.
How would you go about effecting a change Mr. Miller? It is time to stop fretting about and to start building counter-strategies. The market and its manipulators are too big and too well entrenched. Only continuing stellar results can cause the share price to rise significantly. And this is not the time, realistically, to look for stellar results, given the hurting economy worldwide.

A final point. I agree that it is not valid to compare Apple with say, Sony because culturally they are vastly different. But Sony has one strength that Apple has not yet achieved. It has a very broad range of products. It's like holding a broad portfolio of shares, rather than just one or a few, as a defensive investing strategy. One or two lines in the portfolio may under-perform or even fail, but that is not a liquidating killer. My point is that, among the other strategic pre-occupations that Apple's board members are surely pondering over, they should pay attention to diversification within the consumer electronics space. They can do it in a way that no other company can. A range of products based around Mac OS X. Without hesitation, I can think of about half a dozen broad interest devices. And who am I but a committed shareholder?
Let us have some discussion on issues like these too.]]> Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:22:00 -0500
This is a problem that has gone on too long with no analysis, finger-pointing or remedy. Wall Street has always hated Apple as a company. WS is full of reactionary people who cannot dislodge a way of looking at things once a given perception has lodged inside their heads. They cannot learn to look at Apple as it is. They only remember Steve's (perceived) reckless days pre the 90s.
How would you go about effecting a change Mr. Miller? It is time to stop fretting about and to start building counter-strategies. The market and its manipulators are too big and too well entrenched. Only continuing stellar results can cause the share price to rise significantly. And this is not the time, realistically, to look for stellar results, given the hurting economy worldwide.

A final point. I agree that it is not valid to compare Apple with say, Sony because culturally they are vastly different. But Sony has one strength that Apple has not yet achieved. It has a very broad range of products. It's like holding a broad portfolio of shares, rather than just one or a few, as a defensive investing strategy. One or two lines in the portfolio may under-perform or even fail, but that is not a liquidating killer. My point is that, among the other strategic pre-occupations that Apple's board members are surely pondering over, they should pay attention to diversification within the consumer electronics space. They can do it in a way that no other company can. A range of products based around Mac OS X. Without hesitation, I can think of about half a dozen broad interest devices. And who am I but a committed shareholder?
Let us have some discussion on issues like these too.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/103169-who-will-win-the-home-entertainment-battle?source=feed#comment-295252 295252 So, if what you write is wholly nonsense, not a clear vision of trends at all, why do you bother? Don't you have any useful hobbies to occupy your time .... like finding and labelling each of the several voids in your brain?
I believe, upon reading this drivel, that the only way to sum you up is as follows (and you heard it here first).
If you had an intelligent thought in your head, it would die of loneliness.
Write with integrity or don't bother. Shill.]]> Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:08:27 -0400 So, if what you write is wholly nonsense, not a clear vision of trends at all, why do you bother? Don't you have any useful hobbies to occupy your time .... like finding and labelling each of the several voids in your brain?
I believe, upon reading this drivel, that the only way to sum you up is as follows (and you heard it here first).
If you had an intelligent thought in your head, it would die of loneliness.
Write with integrity or don't bother. Shill.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/102904-value-investors-could-do-far-worse-than-apple?source=feed#comment-294938 294938
@ Divs Anon and many others, I guess.

There are so many holes in the arguments you present.

There are thousands of low margin companies that turn in solid profits. They rely on massive sales volumes and essential economies of scale in their purchasing and cost management. They are nimble and fit because they have to be to prosper in low margin territory. This applies to all commodity product makers and vendors.

The amazing difference with Apple is that it chooses not to play that game - even though it is a high volume business. It has said so, many times.

Even though there are tens of millions of people who are happy with a $10 Timex watch....there are many tens or hundreds of thousands who are equally happy to pay a thousand times more for an Omega. Both sell watches. Both biz models work, but for different reasons.

Walmart is a low margin business as a deep-discount retailer. That hasn't stopped it being one of the best, fastest growing investments of the last 50 years and, I guess, America's largest retailer. A bad investment? Nope. A great investment because Walmart has a very strong biz model in a very stable area of consumption.

Dell is a low margin business. But it has a failing biz model as they thrash around trying to find alternative ways of selling, to survive. Why is there a problem here? It is a weak biz model that cannot prosper because it is all too easy for others to compete and, as in HP's case ( a company not reliant on computer sales alone), they can do it much better. A bad investment? Definitely needs a wealth warning now and over the next 2 years. It is unlikely to survive and will likely be bought out by a Taiwanese production contractor in a vertical M&A.

You think AAPL is a low margin company? I shudder to think how you do your research. There are very few companies which can boast of higher margins than Apple. In fact most corporations would kill to get such high margins. No one can earn the $ value of sales per square foot that Apple earns in its stores. And these are the venues where Apple keeps all the margin available on sales, including the margins that would normally go to a reseller. All of this info about Apple's margins is there for anyone with a K-12 Grade education to see. Of course there will always be a few people who are damn good at looking, but they never see what's there in front of their noses.

If this is your reason for avoiding a stake in AAPL, you deny yourself a rare opportunity in these risk-ridden times. In fact, it is an approach that is committed to loss, if you cannot see true value AND high margins where these are so prominently obvious.

Sincerely suggest you open a lemonade stand. Now that IS high margin biz.]]> Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:04:03 -0400
@ Divs Anon and many others, I guess.

There are so many holes in the arguments you present.

There are thousands of low margin companies that turn in solid profits. They rely on massive sales volumes and essential economies of scale in their purchasing and cost management. They are nimble and fit because they have to be to prosper in low margin territory. This applies to all commodity product makers and vendors.

The amazing difference with Apple is that it chooses not to play that game - even though it is a high volume business. It has said so, many times.

Even though there are tens of millions of people who are happy with a $10 Timex watch....there are many tens or hundreds of thousands who are equally happy to pay a thousand times more for an Omega. Both sell watches. Both biz models work, but for different reasons.

Walmart is a low margin business as a deep-discount retailer. That hasn't stopped it being one of the best, fastest growing investments of the last 50 years and, I guess, America's largest retailer. A bad investment? Nope. A great investment because Walmart has a very strong biz model in a very stable area of consumption.

Dell is a low margin business. But it has a failing biz model as they thrash around trying to find alternative ways of selling, to survive. Why is there a problem here? It is a weak biz model that cannot prosper because it is all too easy for others to compete and, as in HP's case ( a company not reliant on computer sales alone), they can do it much better. A bad investment? Definitely needs a wealth warning now and over the next 2 years. It is unlikely to survive and will likely be bought out by a Taiwanese production contractor in a vertical M&A.

You think AAPL is a low margin company? I shudder to think how you do your research. There are very few companies which can boast of higher margins than Apple. In fact most corporations would kill to get such high margins. No one can earn the $ value of sales per square foot that Apple earns in its stores. And these are the venues where Apple keeps all the margin available on sales, including the margins that would normally go to a reseller. All of this info about Apple's margins is there for anyone with a K-12 Grade education to see. Of course there will always be a few people who are damn good at looking, but they never see what's there in front of their noses.

If this is your reason for avoiding a stake in AAPL, you deny yourself a rare opportunity in these risk-ridden times. In fact, it is an approach that is committed to loss, if you cannot see true value AND high margins where these are so prominently obvious.

Sincerely suggest you open a lemonade stand. Now that IS high margin biz.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/102941-share-buybacks-make-apple-sweeter?source=feed#comment-294211 294211 Why even taint your reputation by quoting that infamous MS shill Sacconaghi? Do you care about your reputation at all?
Stick to peeling potatoes. That is your level.]]> Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:13:29 -0400 Why even taint your reputation by quoting that infamous MS shill Sacconaghi? Do you care about your reputation at all?
Stick to peeling potatoes. That is your level.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/102781-is-it-time-for-apple-to-buy-back-some-shares?source=feed#comment-294042 294042 Give up a great competitive advantage to make loser clueless analysts happy? This is all the so-called MS shill analysts can suggest?
Pathetic.
Cash rules dummy.
This would be a massive strategic error at this time. Apple knows this. The clueless analysts do not.]]> Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:21:18 -0400 Give up a great competitive advantage to make loser clueless analysts happy? This is all the so-called MS shill analysts can suggest?
Pathetic.
Cash rules dummy.
This would be a massive strategic error at this time. Apple knows this. The clueless analysts do not.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/101439-apple-s-real-earnings-up-almost-125?source=feed#comment-288913 288913 If I may suggest one change. Your point would be made much more powerfully if you expanded your worksheets to include the same stats for a few competitors and for the sector as a whole.
Excellent. ]]> Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:38:43 -0400 If I may suggest one change. Your point would be made much more powerfully if you expanded your worksheets to include the same stats for a few competitors and for the sector as a whole.
Excellent. ]]>