How old is the repeated statements such as "Apple is greedy" "Tim Cook is greedy" People seem to forget (or don't understand) the ONLY real job for the CEO of ALL publicly traded corporations is to increase shareholder's stock value. That is done by either increased revenue or more importantly increased profit. Investors ONLY buy stock to MAKE MONEY. All major decisions are made with that in mind. They don't try and make the consumer get the most value at the lowest cost possible. It is not greed but inherent in capitalism. GROWTH
Truth. Here's some more context:
Tim Cook, along with the entire Board of Directors and all of the C-Suite Apple people, are EXPECTED to increase shareholder value. If they fail in this mission, the BoD can replace them. If the BoD fails in its responsibility, then the Securities and Exchange commission can have them for supper.
As for the quote "Investors ONLY buy stock to MAKE MONEY", this is true to a majority extent. And you are right, EARNINGS GROWTH is the most important single factor behind a company such as Apple being able to enjoy ever-increasing stock prices over many years.
A "story stock" can rise rapidly, yes. But eventually the story runs out of steam and the stock gets crushed. The stock market can be and often is a cruel mistress.
Almost everyone with a job is an investor, if you have a retirement account. It's not some exclusive club.
I (significantly) invest personally, and though my job. Yes I put in money to make money, but I also decide what companies to ethically support. I, for example, refuse to invest in agri-chemical and petro-chemical.
Please don't lump all investors under one definition.
I want to add something to your comment, because you make some great points:
"It's not some exclusive club." This is more right and true than the sky being blue and nighttime being dark. Only in America can somebody who's NOT a member of the corporate or ruling class elite STILL BECOME A MULTIMILLIONAIRE. The third most frequent type of person who becomes a millionaire in America is...(wait for it)...a teacher. Others include engineers, IT people, and managers.
Did you know that there are over 10 million millionaires in America? That comprises about 3% of the population. Most people who become millionaires in the USA do it on a salary of only $50,000-$70,000 per year. Most millionaires own their own home and did not receive a large inheritance. Most millionaires got that way by investing for years and years in their company retirement plan, such as a 401(k). They did it by staying out of debt and living on less than they make.
It really and truly is NOT some exclusive club!
Plus, each investor in America can decide how he or she wants to manage their own money. For example, Sorinut and I are very different investors. I will invest in companies that don't waste money on ESG matters. I will exit my investments if a company is pushing ESG while their earnings and revenues are flat or falling. That's not to say that Sorinut is wrong, no. He(she?) and I are just different investors!
A block of titanium the size of a watch might cost $15. It seems like Apple might save $5 or $10 per watch.
Apple would never make a watch of pure Titanium. It's best used as an alloy...so combined with aluminum, molybdenum, or iron. But still, Titanium is only about 35 US cents per pound. The cost is in all the manufacture, not the metal itself.
I'm also only buy stocks based on ethical reasons. But I will only invest in a company that is going to have the stock grow (money)
Amen, brother! And your best indicator of having the stock grow is simple: Regularly and significantly increasing revenues and earnings on a quarter-by-quarter and annual basis. I also give high marks to low debt, and new products, new services, or new manufacturing process. There are many other factors, but those are just a few of my own requirements.
I've observed that over-emphasis on ESG is often accompanied by a slowing of revenue and/or earnings growth, and so can be a drag on stock price. High ESG scores will tend to make me wonder if the C-Suite of the company in question is maybe too distracted by ESG and not focused ENOUGH on keeping the ship afloat. The more a company advertises its ESG superpowers, the more skittish I get as an investor. ESG is not a bad thing, but it CAN pull the principles AWAY from minding the store.
One exit signal for me is if ESG is pushed hard while layoffs are also happening. If it's not the ESG staff being laid off, then I worry that the company will become dysfunctional. Or non-functional. I'm sure ESG people are fine human beings. But I doubt any of them are going to rush out to the factory floor and man a machine or tool who's regular operator got let go last week.
While shareholders expect that of the CEO, rightfully so, that doesn't mean all CEOs are driven by that. I do see that in Tim, but I didn't see it in Steve Jobs. Steve had a true passion for the creative process, solving problems for real people. It was evident to me that shareholder talk was just noise to Steve.
The best CEO for extended growth will be skilled in three things...being a competent administrator, a competent leader, AND having mad chops as a creative.
Also I said "all decisions made with that in mind" as in Apple's major decisions are made with growth/profit in mind. Of course being ethical and progressive and consumer focused is the reason I personally invest in them. But they have made me a decent amount of money too.
You can be ethical and make money in business. Individuals and their companies do that all the time. But you have to know when to put a stop to the hand-waving seances and get down to the actual work of running the business.
But sadly even in that industry now Profit is the biggest driver. I never said capitalism/growth was a good thing.
Here is where you've steered wrong. Without capitalism/growth, we would still be beating sticks and bones on animal skins. There would be no incentive to succeed in business. There would be no incentive to make anything or to charge money for it. Nobody would be motivated to provide a service worthy of a customer. We would just all be sitting around thinking about conquering our neighbors, rather than trying to figure out how we might get them to give us money for something we've created.
Don’t know if Apple knows or cares but I’ve been in touch with Apple’s Swedish phone support on a couple of times and it sucks! The community has been much more accessible and helpful.
Apple US has been great for me on the phone!