Tim Cook (AAPL) testifies at a Senate hearing on corporate offshore taxes. "We don't depend on tax gimmicks," Cook asserts, while pushing for a big overhaul of U.S. corporate tax code. "Apple has always believed in the simple, not the complex." Sen. John McCain isn't satisfied with Apple's defenses, claiming the company "has violated the spirit of the law if not the letter of the law." Sen. Rand Paul has strongly defended Apple. "Congress should be on trial here for creating a byzantine tax code." (previous) [View news story]
AAPL has held up pretty good so far. Was expecting a big sell off with this news. You have the two most hated organization talking to each other today - Apple and Politicians. Paul is my newest favorite senator.
More from Gundlach: Not concerned about inflation, he calls TIPS (TIP) "pretty bad" investments and says he'll be a buyer if the 10-year (TLT) yield bounces back to 2% (off 3 bps today to 1.94%). As for the inevitable Apple (AAPL -3.3%) question - he prefers the common stock to the just-issued bonds. Warren Buffett says he prays for stocks he owns to go down in price - it allows him and company repurchase programs to buy at better prices. Is Apple putting money to work the last couple of days? [View news story]
zd2002 didnt expose anything. Its not rocket science.
More from Gundlach: Not concerned about inflation, he calls TIPS (TIP) "pretty bad" investments and says he'll be a buyer if the 10-year (TLT) yield bounces back to 2% (off 3 bps today to 1.94%). As for the inevitable Apple (AAPL -3.3%) question - he prefers the common stock to the just-issued bonds. Warren Buffett says he prays for stocks he owns to go down in price - it allows him and company repurchase programs to buy at better prices. Is Apple putting money to work the last couple of days? [View news story]
I would not be surprised if they are not buying at these levels. Losing faith in top mgmt at aapl. I hope aapl gets a pop around June show that Google has gotten the last few days. I am afraid though if they do get a pop it will be from 350 range to say 380 range. A lot of days left before June show for this stock to continue its downward spiral and now that it has blown through 50day level watch out.
Apple (AAPL -4.2%) roundup: Tiger Global joined the unrelated Tiger Management in selling Apple shares in Q1, lowering its stake to 260K shares from a prior 1.05M (13F). 2) According to the iRumor mill's latest updates, the retina iPad Mini will have the same resolution (2048x1536) and processor (A6X) as the retina 4th-gen iPad; the iPhone 5S will replace the tradition home button with a touch-sensitive sapphire button (a positive for GTAT); and the iPhone 5S will have an improved camera to go with a fingerprint sensor. 3) The DOJ accuses Apple of being the ring-master in an e-book price-fixing scheme (previous); Apple calls the accusation "absurd." 4) Joe Weisenthal observes Apple's price movements have correlated some with gold's. [View news story]
Also Google's event today seemed to be positive which is not a good sign for aapl. Agreed with the time it takes for new products. Any other industry not a big deal but in tech you have to stagger your products better. Never been one to bash Cook but I am losing patience especially if we go to the fall before new products are announced. There silence is indeed frustrating. Cook said last year with his NBC interview that they had great things in the pipeline and again says it ever qrtly conference call but where is it? Starting to think the 5S needs to have more wow than what we are hearing or the launch will be perceived as another negative. Like it or not competition is catching up and surpassing aapl.
I'm starting to think that anyone can write an article for seeking alpha these days. Bringing Roomey into this article had no relevance to apple. Apple did not have the cash back in 2010 that it does now so trying to say that Jobs would never have done this is a silly arguement since we will never know what Jobs would have or not have done today with 3X the cash now. Most companies do not repatriate their cash so apple is not doing anything different that other companies are doing. They had to pay more than msft due to the rating they got which was related to the ever changing industry that aapl is in.
This article is so outrageous that I suspect the auther does not really support these views but instead wrote a controversial article that he knew would get a lot of hits and therefore get paid more for writing it. Either that or an angry short that got screwed this last week with the run up in aapl. Shameful!
The Apple-Microsoft Comparison Is Valid [View article]
Hearing these comparisons is starting to get a little old. Apple had a rough patch based on WS standards over last 6 months and they are doomed. 40%+ margins was never sustainable and growing at 50% each year isnt either. Stock will be range bound until later this Summer where it will move again based on product refreshes and hopefully new products all together later this year and into 2014. I was late to the party and may jump out soon for the tax write off but still a bull and believer and will jump back in this summer. Comparing to msft, please.
I would disagree that this is a maturing market. Maybe in the US but China and India will be the biggest smartphone markets in the next 2-3 years and I see tremendous growth opportunites for aapl here. aapl may be a little late to the game here in those markets but I think they will catch up quick.
I hope aapl keeps its cash, maybe does some big share buybacks but other than that I dont invest in aapl for its divd. There are a lot of better options out there if divd investing is your thing. I will stay long aapl until the end of the year and believe those who do will be richly rewarded.
Add Brian White to the growing list of Apple (AAPL -1.3%) fans who think a bigger iPhone is needed. "We are being told that the minimum size needed by Apple is a 4.5-inch display on the iPhone; however, a 5-inch to 5.5-inch would be optimal," writes the Topeka analyst after talking with Chinese/Taiwanese suppliers. Also: Cowen sees more room for iPad growth in the U.S., citing encouraging survey data, and BTIG's Walter Piecyk, who recently upgraded Apple, thinks a new capital-allocation plan will be timed to coincide with a downbeat FQ2 report (results are due on April 23). [View news story]
Not all good news out there. New FB "home" phone might pull diehard FB fans away and seeing that there over 1B FB users even a small amount could be felt. Have BestBuy with their new Samsung "stores". France coming out and saying iphone demand is lower for various reasons etc etc.
Only thing that matters is Q3 guidance in my opinion. I am assuming a Q2 miss but hopefully not too bad. We need CM to kick in Q3.
Add Brian White to the growing list of Apple (AAPL -1.3%) fans who think a bigger iPhone is needed. "We are being told that the minimum size needed by Apple is a 4.5-inch display on the iPhone; however, a 5-inch to 5.5-inch would be optimal," writes the Topeka analyst after talking with Chinese/Taiwanese suppliers. Also: Cowen sees more room for iPad growth in the U.S., citing encouraging survey data, and BTIG's Walter Piecyk, who recently upgraded Apple, thinks a new capital-allocation plan will be timed to coincide with a downbeat FQ2 report (results are due on April 23). [View news story]
Bottom line there are many out there that would like a larger phone, I am not one of them but I do feel that Apple COULD offer phone size options. They dont all have to be the same size. Have a quailty phone with 50%+ margins in both sizes and everyone is happy.
I hope the current price already has a Q2 miss baked into it and then a new cap. structure just shoots the price back up to the high 400's, new products released and we are back into the mid to high 500's hopefully higher - imho.
"The Street went from thinking Tim Cook has to provide some revolutionary product to now thinking he won’t even do the obvious things. I think it’s logical they will," asserts Walter Piecyk on CNBC (video), defending his upgrade of Apple (AAPL +1.1%). One of those "obvious" things is a cheaper iPhone, which Piecyk expects will add $11B to FY14 revenue while lowering Apple's gross margin by 200 bps. He sees total FY14 iPhone revenue growth of 15%, with units growing over 30% to 190M (152M high-end iPhones + 38M cheaper ones) and ASP falling below $550 from FQ1's $641. [View news story]
You can call it semantics if you like but Apple's entire reputation is built around building quality products. The word "cheaper" brings down the brand name which is not accurate. If they can build a less expensive phone that does not canibalize their flagship phone and still get a 40% margin on it than that is the way to go in my opinion. I would like to see it only offered in India and China though.
Disney Showcases Apple's iWatch Potential [View article]
Most people now over 50 dont have a smartphone either. That is not Apple's targeted market. Longer term though, as people who grew up with this technology age, you will see more and more 50+ embrace it.
"High above the Alps my Gnome is hearing a rumor that Apple will announce a stock split at tomorrow's shareholder meeting," tweets Doug Kass. The rumor has led Apple (AAPL +1%) shares to spike higher. Update (2:24 PM):Kass is using the post-rumor spike to sell part of his trading position in Apple. [View news story]
Sorry - if there was any substance to the rumor Kass would not have turned around and sold some of his position and taken a profit. Manipulation at its best.
Tim Cook (AAPL) testifies at a Senate hearing on corporate offshore taxes. "We don't depend on tax gimmicks," Cook asserts, while pushing for a big overhaul of U.S. corporate tax code. "Apple has always believed in the simple, not the complex." Sen. John McCain isn't satisfied with Apple's defenses, claiming the company "has violated the spirit of the law if not the letter of the law." Sen. Rand Paul has strongly defended Apple. "Congress should be on trial here for creating a byzantine tax code." (previous) [View news story]
More from Gundlach: Not concerned about inflation, he calls TIPS (TIP) "pretty bad" investments and says he'll be a buyer if the 10-year (TLT) yield bounces back to 2% (off 3 bps today to 1.94%). As for the inevitable Apple (AAPL -3.3%) question - he prefers the common stock to the just-issued bonds. Warren Buffett says he prays for stocks he owns to go down in price - it allows him and company repurchase programs to buy at better prices. Is Apple putting money to work the last couple of days? [View news story]
More from Gundlach: Not concerned about inflation, he calls TIPS (TIP) "pretty bad" investments and says he'll be a buyer if the 10-year (TLT) yield bounces back to 2% (off 3 bps today to 1.94%). As for the inevitable Apple (AAPL -3.3%) question - he prefers the common stock to the just-issued bonds. Warren Buffett says he prays for stocks he owns to go down in price - it allows him and company repurchase programs to buy at better prices. Is Apple putting money to work the last couple of days? [View news story]
Apple (AAPL -4.2%) roundup: Tiger Global joined the unrelated Tiger Management in selling Apple shares in Q1, lowering its stake to 260K shares from a prior 1.05M (13F). 2) According to the iRumor mill's latest updates, the retina iPad Mini will have the same resolution (2048x1536) and processor (A6X) as the retina 4th-gen iPad; the iPhone 5S will replace the tradition home button with a touch-sensitive sapphire button (a positive for GTAT); and the iPhone 5S will have an improved camera to go with a fingerprint sensor. 3) The DOJ accuses Apple of being the ring-master in an e-book price-fixing scheme (previous); Apple calls the accusation "absurd." 4) Joe Weisenthal observes Apple's price movements have correlated some with gold's. [View news story]
Shame On You, Apple [View article]
This article is so outrageous that I suspect the auther does not really support these views but instead wrote a controversial article that he knew would get a lot of hits and therefore get paid more for writing it. Either that or an angry short that got screwed this last week with the run up in aapl. Shameful!
The Apple-Microsoft Comparison Is Valid [View article]
Apple Should Pay Its Tax Bill [View article]
I hope aapl keeps its cash, maybe does some big share buybacks but other than that I dont invest in aapl for its divd. There are a lot of better options out there if divd investing is your thing. I will stay long aapl until the end of the year and believe those who do will be richly rewarded.
Add Brian White to the growing list of Apple (AAPL -1.3%) fans who think a bigger iPhone is needed. "We are being told that the minimum size needed by Apple is a 4.5-inch display on the iPhone; however, a 5-inch to 5.5-inch would be optimal," writes the Topeka analyst after talking with Chinese/Taiwanese suppliers. Also: Cowen sees more room for iPad growth in the U.S., citing encouraging survey data, and BTIG's Walter Piecyk, who recently upgraded Apple, thinks a new capital-allocation plan will be timed to coincide with a downbeat FQ2 report (results are due on April 23). [View news story]
Only thing that matters is Q3 guidance in my opinion. I am assuming a Q2 miss but hopefully not too bad. We need CM to kick in Q3.
Add Brian White to the growing list of Apple (AAPL -1.3%) fans who think a bigger iPhone is needed. "We are being told that the minimum size needed by Apple is a 4.5-inch display on the iPhone; however, a 5-inch to 5.5-inch would be optimal," writes the Topeka analyst after talking with Chinese/Taiwanese suppliers. Also: Cowen sees more room for iPad growth in the U.S., citing encouraging survey data, and BTIG's Walter Piecyk, who recently upgraded Apple, thinks a new capital-allocation plan will be timed to coincide with a downbeat FQ2 report (results are due on April 23). [View news story]
I hope the current price already has a Q2 miss baked into it and then a new cap. structure just shoots the price back up to the high 400's, new products released and we are back into the mid to high 500's hopefully higher - imho.
"The Street went from thinking Tim Cook has to provide some revolutionary product to now thinking he won’t even do the obvious things. I think it’s logical they will," asserts Walter Piecyk on CNBC (video), defending his upgrade of Apple (AAPL +1.1%). One of those "obvious" things is a cheaper iPhone, which Piecyk expects will add $11B to FY14 revenue while lowering Apple's gross margin by 200 bps. He sees total FY14 iPhone revenue growth of 15%, with units growing over 30% to 190M (152M high-end iPhones + 38M cheaper ones) and ASP falling below $550 from FQ1's $641. [View news story]
Disney Showcases Apple's iWatch Potential [View article]
"High above the Alps my Gnome is hearing a rumor that Apple will announce a stock split at tomorrow's shareholder meeting," tweets Doug Kass. The rumor has led Apple (AAPL +1%) shares to spike higher. Update (2:24 PM): Kass is using the post-rumor spike to sell part of his trading position in Apple. [View news story]