I don't get it. So what? Every single OEM, Google and Microsoft would trade places with Apple as soon as they could, because Apple has the best business, by far.
How is it that a continuously growing user-base of the most valuable users of (if not the) the most lucrative industry on the planet is not enough?
So only making way more money than any competitor could ever dream off isn't enough? What if it drops a bit? What if it drops a really huge amount, and Apple is only a great business like Google or Microsoft? Doomed? Is Google doomed despite being great at exactly 0 things outside of their Ad business? Is MS doomed as well?
Apple has lots of problems that piss me off and they need to focus on (graphical performance under OS X, the disaster that is the Mac App Store, the disaster that is their Pro Market, the shameful decisions that allow the 13" cMBP and the MBAir being listed for sale on their websites, 1GB Ram and 16GB iOS devices, iPod Nano, 2GB Shuffle, HDD on Macs, Poor Graphical hardware on Macs) and they should think of the 85 % of people around the world that won't/don't want/can't buy their products, but cut the crap with this "doomed" BS.
At this time, they are the most lucrative public traded company of all time. If they are losers, aren't we all even worse? What is Dell? What is Google? What is Lenovo? What are almost all MR users?
It's all about growth
potential. Stock markets are forward looking, which reflects investors sentiments, because investors are in it for the gain
later on. No investor wants to hold on to a company stock that they think will under perform.
Also, the unique problem that Apple has is that it is making too much profit overseas. That money stashed abroad is basically useless in the US Apple balance sheets since Tim Cook (understandably) doesn't want to repatriate that cash. So to any investor in AAPL, that capital is not being deployed or put to effective good use. Stock buybacks are only somewhat helpful. Dividends can be better for institutional holders, but it's not the answer that everyone is looking for.
Companies like Alphabet, Microsoft, Facebook, Dell, are all effectively using their cash reserves for investment and business development purposes (i.e., acquisitions, new business ventures, etc). These investments are meant to pay off and generate more cash flow later on. Investors don't see that with AAPL. You can easily counter that AAPL is "secretive" with its new products (i.e., Apple Car, etc), but that is not a very effective argument for a public company to make to calm its investors, as is evident with a quick look at AAPL stock.
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Only $1B in profit every 8 days!?? I think it's time for Apple to replace Tim with a real businessman named Donald.
I can picture the keynote now: stage-left, two half naked live "Barbie dolls" with white gloves stand either side of a spinning mirror gold diamond encrusted Apple logo leashed with two random lions and the man himself out front donning a royal cape:
"And we're calling it iWig."
Yeah, but all that (largely overseas) profit is next to useless for investors in AAPL, if Apple can't deploy that cash to effective use. How is an investor in AAPL going to benefit if Apple makes $1B profit a week (mostly overseas), and all AAPL really ever does is lock into cash and cash equivalents in Ireland?
It's not about the profit as much as it is about using that profit effectively. Sure, a cash pile is important for any company to have to weather bad days or make acquisitions or investments down the line. But not at the ridiculous amount Apple holds. Non-institutional holders argue for more buyback with that cash, while institutional holders argue for fatter dividends. But both know that those are inefficient cash deployments. The real answer most investors are looking for is products and innovation that will make Apple's cash flow even bigger while returning that capital to investors.