Apple Is Slowly Blowing Companies Away
The resurgence of Apple the stock has been an amazing turn of events from last summer when the stock appeared to headed down the drain. It seemed everyone had written a eulogy for the company, saying Apple could only be considered a phone hardware company and nothing else. The stock is flirting with all time highs now, and since the beginning of 2017 Apple is up a whopping 16% or so, making the biggest company in the world worth well over 600 billion dollars.
But what I find fascinating is the competitive spirit of Apple, which produces some of most sleek and user-friendly devices around. But they are often not the first to do so, but when you are good at re-engineering other products and have a following like Apple, then they are going to eventually leave the competition in the dust.
Many look at Apple as simply a phone hardware company, and if you strictly go by their sales figures you would mostly be correct. This year marks the 10 year anniversary of the iPhone, an amazing device that the late Steve Jobs said would revolutionize society. Indeed, it has. But what about the first mover? That would be Blackberry, formerly known as Research in Motion (RIMM). Before the iPhone came on the scene, everyone with a smartphone used a Blackberry. Apple was late to come with their phone, but it didn't really matter.
But as the functionality changed and demand for services and apps increased, Apple saw an opening and eventually crushed Blackberry - which once was riding higher than Apple with a large market share. Today, Blackberry is barely holding on and is probably more of an acquisition candidate - but then, who wants to compete with Apple?
I have been a big Fitbit fan for years, have used mine wherever I go to count steps and other great features. Well, after six years I have retired my Fitbit in exchange for an Apple Watch, which I cannot get off my wrist! It is a tremendous device, a motivator and a great companion. It will do exactly what Fitbit does and more, so why do I need duplication? Fitbit stock is down some 90% from its highs and getting strangled by Apple. Again, late to the party with their watch - but Apple wins again. Further, they may very well set a trend for fashion, and if the previous earnings for Fossil are any indication it is happening right now. This stock is down about 70% from its highs.
What is next for Apple to conquer? It seems they eventually win wherever they step, the latest being original programming with movie and TV content. Netflix, Amazon and Hulu have blazed a fast trail, and Apple is getting a late start. But as always, they will make an impact - while everyone is watching out.
Many see Apple as only a phone hardware company? Only if they've been hiding under a rock. Not a fan of this article.
thanks for your comments. why not a fan? did you bother to read my comment following, 'if you are looking at sales then you would be correct'. read again.
Thanks for answering, Bob, raises my opinion ;-) I just get cranky at articles that seem to overgeneralize - 'everyone' etc. The people I know, and read, think of Apple as a tech company and a computing company - not a phone company.
thanks again....a phone company not in the sense of AT&T or Verizon, rather a phone hardware company. they derive 80% or more of its sales from iPhone, so if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck...u know the rest. This is the only distinction I made here, but notice I talked about the watch, apps, services and coming new stuff like content. So, I realize they are looking for new sources of revenue but the dominant one comes from iPhone (for now).
Yes, both Bob and Vintage Vixen have good points. I don't think most people think of #Apple as a phone company, but their revenue does seem overly dependent on their #iPhone sales. Their iPads are built too well to need frequent upgrades so tablet sales have been slowing for a while. No one needs a dedicated mp3 player anymore and they simply haven't found "the next big thing yet." With Steve Jobs gone, who knows if they ever will. $APPL
This is where #Apple excels - they identify promising products that aren't realizing its full potential. Then they build a better version of that product. Apple did not invent smart watches, computers, MP3 players, or tablets. They just build better products.