Dividends Anonymous

Apple's Greatest Idea Yet

There's no such thing as a "sure thing" when investing - otherwise everyone would be in it. Apple is a consumer stock and just as any technology company they're at the mercy of consumer trends. What might be hot today might be stone cold tomorrow and unless you can continuously stay ahead of the game then you're exposed to risk. Margins are declining so unless sales increase at or above that proportion investors should be cautious. We're entering a period where demand for high-end goods might not be as feverish as investors think. Yes they have great products, great management and have compelling fundamentals but they are just as exposed to the consumer as any other company who sells a product/service to that market.

Is Apple More Undervalued Than Other Tech Sector Stocks?

The only concern that I have is when everyone's focus is on only one company the competition is likely making significant inroads elsewhere. While AAPL is a great company I think you need to be concerned about the pressure on margins and how a decline in sales affects their profitability.

The products are great, but you're buying the business when you purchase the stock and there's a big different between the two.

Great article.

Value Investors Could Do Far Worse Than Apple

Margins....margins.......

I have no clue why any company would compete on price in order to grow sales or secure more market share. Margins are how you make money and in this environment a company should be protecting them rather than exploiting them on the downside. Apple's revenue isn't even diversified anymore among a few products - its heavily reliant on one product.

I don't own it and wouldn't regardless of how good its products are or how well its R&D division is run. On the most basic metric that I evaluate a business (operating gross margins) this stocks fails.