With close to $100 billion in the bank, it looks like everyone has started to beat the dividend/buyback drum. I think I would rather see a stock buyback than a dividend. It will be interesting how things will change without Steve.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/322266-what-an-apple-dividend-may-look-like
It’s amazing it took this long. But, it’s too little, too late.
Bringing a hardware guy to fight Apple and even derivative Android is like bringing a knife in a fighter jet battle. Good luck with that. No idea how the market reacts to that, but if we see $20, I advise anyone stuck with this dead horse to get out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QUFwhpcrCTw
Innovation – “sometimes we think the unthinkable’ 
A company that has been hemorrhaging market share and value. A company that didn’t believe that the iPhone was possible…….. innovating? LOL
Thorsten – the captain of a ship that just hit an iceberg in 2007 and is slowly sinking. He just doesn’t know it.
Supposedly, the captain of the Costa Concordia was dining with an unregistered passenger when the ship ran aground. I doubt that she was promoted to captain of the ship after the captain hopped into a life boat.
And yet, isn’t this what RIM just did?
What’s the deal today? Negative reaction to pricing?
Unless you look at charts, do not try to find reason in the short term moves. And even then, you only get a “probable” prediction / explanation.
Maybe somebody was simply afraid that the good news would push it up so they pounded the brakes a bit too hard ?
Yeah, I just thought I was missing something the way it was getting hammered earlier today.
More like knee-jerk reaction to yesterday’s 300+ “bump”.
oops. Now I noticed you are posting in TSLA.
……. Motorola Xoom. Coming in at a operating loss of $32 million for MMI. The Xoom gets Zuned!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/27/motorola-xoom-shipments-q3-2011_n_1062664.html
Companies are going to get a little gun shy with the tablet market. They thought (cough) that this was just like the smartphone market. They can throw anything/everything out and people would just buy it up. Every quarter, this looks more and more like the iPod market. Companies are going to half-commit (“make shit”, if SJ was saying it) to the market so they don’t lose millions.
With MMI losing $215 million just over the past three quarters, it’s hard to imagine that Google would buy them and not sell off the pieces (keeping the patents).
Google looks more and more like Microsoft, only that they are weaker in understanding economics. It’s only natural, when you had a huge cash pipe in you backyard for years, you have no clue what savings or the right price for stuff is. I wonder how long they will survive when competitors will start turning down the valves of that pipe. They are a one trick pony company, much more than Microsoft, more or less like RIM. The end will spectacular, even it it will take 5 years to get there.
I’ve never met Jobs personally, but I feel bit sad each time I am reminded by media that he is gone. Last time I felt this way was when Frank Zappa passed away. I knew too for long time it was coming but when it happened I was struck and saddened by it. (Actually when I think of it, those two had many similarities)
As for Celebration of Steve’s Life, I’ve definitely liked the Ive’s segment the best. It was very hearty and passionate. Actually listening to Tim Cook was like listening to the dry bread. He most definitely is great at running the Apple. But please do not use him as a company speaker. I don’t know if Jony would be willing to be the face of Apple, but I think if he would it would be great. He is different from Jobs, but he shares his passion and he can grab your attention and things he says are inspiring although he says them in his own unique way with his much slower intonation.
Agree, that subtle enthusiasm and excitement along with an obvious intellect needs to be front and center. Being able to say “It’s amazing!” with conviction is the essence of Apple.
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/10/12/samsung-attempts-to-ambush-iphone-4s-launch-in-sydney/
“Samsung has set up a temporary shop in Sydney, right across from the local Apple Store, and started hawking Galaxy S2 phones for the low, low price of two bucks (with a two-year contract, naturally).”
Maybe it’s me, but Samsung is starting to look pathetic. Then again, maybe they are doing a little “R & D”
More FUD. Using supply chain information to chase numbers is about useless when it comes to Apple.
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-orders-weak-2011-10
“According to DigiTimes, PCB (printed circuit board) manufacturers have seen Q4 orders cut by 15%, with specific orders for smartphone parts also being cut. Apple was specifically mentioned, with sources saying that Apple cited weak US and Europe economies:”
AT&T and Sprint both had record sales / activations yesterday !
http://allthingsd.com/20111014/launch-of-iphone-4s-sets-sales-records-for-carriers/
iPhone 4s is clearly the biggest mistake in Apple’s history !!! There is only downhill without Steve.
Still waiting for some analyst or blogger to paint these astounding sales as a remembrance to Steve. Or maybe I just missed the already published story.
There are some, as an interview with a random japanese 4s buyer. But you know, when they are going to announce the week-end sales on Monday (or Tuesday), it won’t matter why. It’s very hard to estimate because there are so many parameters but I think anything in the range 3M-5M is possible. So if I had to bet, as I have no clue where it should be in this interval, I would say 4M.
I have just seen that after I posted my comment
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/10/15/how-many-iphone-4s-units-will-apple-sell-this-weekend/
Not bad for a blind squirrel LOL
LOL…. Now, that’s moving some product!!
I’m liking this…..
for the week-end, he may be right but he’s only multiplying (600k -> 1.7M, 1M -> ?)
for the quarter, he’s clueless, 30M+, (35M+ if China Mobile enters the game)
I read several articles where they imply that Abramsky suggest that they had 3M preorders during the first 3 days, just like this one
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-13/apple-s-iphone-sells-out-at-all-three-u-s-carriers-ahead-of-store-debut.html
60% I think it’s stupid reporters who do not take the 3 seconds necessary to understand what they read before spewing out their articles
30% Abramsky meant it, but you really cannot expect the second and third day to be as intense as the first 24h
10% – to be generous – they are both right
Reporters caring about accuracy….. I doubt we will ever see that.
With everyone talking about how Apple screwed up with the 4s. It’s rather fun to see this:
AT&T: iPhone 4s is the most successful launch in history with more than 200,000 preorders in the first 12 hours alone.
Apple Sells Out of iPhone 4S Pre-Order Stocks for Launch Day in U.S.
It looks like preorders are at half million and Saturday didn’t even started yet.
hihi
It seems it’s sold out in all 7 countries.
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/10/08/iphone-4s-pre-orders-may-have-topped-500000-in-the-u-s-before-apple-ran-out/
This means probably over 1M pre-orders already. If they have enough supply (they should, given that the design did not change much), they should blast full speed over 2M during the first week-end. 3M would be just great and would power the pre-earnings rally (Monday 17 Oct. – Tuesday 18 Oct.)
I think the ‘mistake’ would be not making at least enough to really blow the previous sales record out of the water. I’ll be surprised if Apple didn’t a ton of these puppies. And if they do, I think it would be in Apple’s best interest to let some of that information out immediately.
The “s” is for Sold Out.
This is funny. http://bit.ly/raUZqk
I quote one comment to PED’s article I liked earlier :
“This is going to be like the iPad debut.
stage 1 – everyone is soooo disappointed – “I’m not getting one”
stage 2 – Well I goes that Siri thing is kind of cool.
stage 3 – It does have a faster process and better camera and I can get it with 64Gb
stage 4 – Well, I am eligible for an upgrade . . . may as well get one
stage 5 – (Day of pre-order) Geez, Apple, why can’t your server handle the traffic? I couldn’t get in on the preorder.
stage 6 – How come Apple can’t make enough of these to meet demand. [The shortage is FAKE I tell you! Apple has millions of iPhone 4Ses sitting in warehouses!]
stage 7 – what? they are going for $2000 on eBay?
stage 8 – better get out my sleeping bag to wait in line.
Currently stages 1-5 are completed. On to stages 6-8.”
really nice and thoughtful piece by daring fireball
http://daringfireball.net/2011/10/thoughts_and_observations_iphone_4s
two paragraph as an ad to that article:
“In short, Tim Cook is playing offense, not defense, and he clearly has a very detailed plan.
There are many, I think, who see Cook’s near-term priority as defensive — that he’s been handed the keys to a great and fabulous machine, and he must focus on not slipping. Not to lose what the company has fought so hard to obtain. But Cook is talking about growth. About Apple not being in a precarious position — at a peak of success it needs to defend — but rather about Apple finally having achieved a solid, stable foundation — financial resources, design talent, engineering prowess, and traction in the mass market — upon which it can consistently thrive.”
That’s a great article. I think most try to analyze Apple by comparing it (them) to other companies and you just can’t do that with Apple.
More Tesla porn!
http://www.autoobserver.com/2011/10/tesla-wows-with-model-s-rides-factory-tour.html
“If the goal of Tesla’s weekend driving event was to accelerate early customer excitement in the Model S and investor confidence in the timing and production process – mission accomplished. We are encouraged by the progress Tesla has shown, particularly on the manufacturing side. We expect the next major catalysts for the stock will be when Tesla unveils its Model X crossover variant at the end of the year and when the release candidate vehicles are complete (expected first quarter 2012). The production launch of the Model S and pace of early customer adoption is loaded with execution risk. That may help explain why Tesla management is making such extraordinary efforts to share its early accomplishments with the public. Just in case they need to cash the credibility check for factors outside of their control.”
Tesla looks freakishly good. Model S looks like cross between BMW and Aston Martin but you can still fit 7 people into it. That’s the trouble with Chevy Volt, if you’ve seen what Volt looked like as a prototype and what bean counters turned it into until it got into production, you know what I mean. I don’t think Fisker (Karma) has any chance as a major car manufacturer. Maybe small runs for a little while and then they’ll give it up. With Tesla everything they do looks like they are tooling for mass manufacturing. Power to them.
The more I see, the more I like this company. As far as the Volt, it should be Chevy ‘revolting’. It amazes me that a GM spent time and money developing it.
Zee 4:06 am on January 27, 2012 10 days ago Reply
My hunch: No. And, no. I read that Samsung was investing $37.5B. So I think the $100B is like a nine iron. When things are in the rough etc, you pull it out and clobber the thing.
Zee 4:14 am on January 27, 2012 10 days ago Reply
Btw if I’m not mistaking it, it looks like Apple will now be pulling in over a billion a week on average.
conshmillo 10:25 am on January 27, 2012 10 days ago Reply
That’s my feeling too. When you have 100 billions at hand nobody messes with you.
Nicu 2:15 pm on January 27, 2012 9 days ago Reply
as long as they are going to be doubly taxed on that offshore cash, there will be no (significant) dividend; there may be a symbolic one, just to allow some classes of funds to enter the game, but this still sounds too artificial and contorted to sound like what Apple would do
what I see as a reasonable law is that US should take in tax the difference up to 35% from what was already paid ; this way there is no public backlash, no incentives for businesses to cheat but also no incentives for others like Apple to keep the green out there until the end of times
as for buybacks (if the tax issue is resolved), they should buy back low and sell later at higher levels (just like issuing for cash); in this way they will limit volatility and risk, increase their cash with no effort, therefore the real value of the company and keep some vultures out as they cannot manipulate it easily anymore