Apple's Stock Reaches Highest Price Since 2015

[melendezest]

Difference between Apple and Google - Apple tries lots of things, waits until they're ready enough, then tells you about them and releases them. Google tries lots of things, tells you about them, then waits a while and maybe releases them...then waits until they're ready enough.

Perhaps, but there is a key variable missing in Apple's formula:

Steve Jobs. Or rather, vision.

For all the BS courage talk, it seems Apple is afraid to take the real risks because they KNOW that they've never really done it without (someone like) Steve at the helm. Timmy is an empty seat in that area.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Oh, I was thinking more of their powermacs, which were over $6000

That's almost exactly how much I invested in AAPL in 1997.

I also bought the PowerMac.
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I have a long history of investing in companies that had a sudden loss of stock price, but financials seemed okay. I was pretty lucky with most of them, but I would strongly question Brian White's 185 target stock price for Apple... unless Apple does a reverse split.

Very rarely are the experts right about that. Anyone else remember all the experts saying that Apple was going to be a trillion dollar company back in 2012, right before the they took a tumble.

The stock market is very emotional, and there will always be those investors that rely on the "Greater Fool Theory".

You are referring to traders, not investors.

 

[rampancy]

I just don't quite understand why so many people are hoping for Apple to fail or are so critical about how poorly the company is doing.

It's for a variety of reasons. Among the media, Apple is an easy target that generates plenty of revenue through click-baity stories going on about how anything and everything Apple is doing will and can doom them to certain failure. Apple is a company that never really fully played by the rules that Wall Street analysts keep on harping on as being the sure-fire path to success (e.g. promiscuously licensing their software, splitting their hardware/software divisions, adopting rival platforms for their own central products). When you add in Apple's historical penchant for secrecy concerning their plans, it's almost too easy to pick on Apple.

Among fanboys, from what I see, it's because the struggle has been to reconcile the Apple that they idolize vs. the reality of Apple as a company today in 2017. It's no longer the company it was in the mid-90s/early-2000s, fighting the establishment. The pro desktop market (or rather, the entire desktop market) has changed. The notebook market has changed. The mobile market has changed. Yet, people still feel that Apple needs to make the same kinds of products that they did more than a decade ago, be it monolithic desktops that represent a shrinking percentage of their profit, or even new iPods. We fanboys tend to be a rather fickle lot and we always seem to believe that unless Apple pays attention to our specific niche (such as the demand that Apple make an gaming-centric Mac, or the early-00's furor over the xMac at the Ars forums), they are completely, irrevocably, irredeemably doomed to complete and total failure.

Does this mean that I think Apple is perfect and that they're doing no wrong? Hardly. I don't think anyone could argue that their overall hardware and design lineup has seriously lagged, even when taking into account the struggles that Intel has recently faced in pushing new CPU development. And a lot of the complaints about Apple from 2016 do have a solid foundation. But at the same time, a lot of the doom and gloom that I see about Apple seems to come from a more emotionally driven (or in some cases, agenda-driven) place that says more about the people making the complaints than it does about Apple's health as a company.

For me personally, Apple will survive. It survived the Copland Crisis, and it survived "The Megahertz Myth" while being kneecapped at 500 Mhz. It'll survive this. After all, it's not like it's the first time Apple released a new eagerly anticipated revision to a marquee product line, only to have it fall flat on its face...PowerBook 5300, anyone?

 

[dannyyankou]

That's almost exactly how much I invested in AAPL in 1997.

I also bought the PowerMac.
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You are referring to traders, not investors.

Oh wow, you're very lucky. Congrats I guess, lol

 

[SBlue1]

The Airpods and iPhone 7 is a failure. You can sit them side by side.

As a matter of fact, put those new Macs with them too. And actually, you can sit the iPad Pro there. And the watch.

A bundle of failure.

The AirPods are the best product Apple had the whole last year. Ok, given the trash they released in 2016 it seems to be easy, but hey they are a classic textbook Apple story: There were wireless headphones before them but they were clunky, nerdy, expensive, had not a great battery and so on. Apple reinvented them in a new and great way and made them cool and people want them so in a year or so we will be seeing a lot of similar looking wireless earbuds. Classic Apple.

 

[Juicy Box]

That's almost exactly how much I invested in AAPL in 1997.

I also bought the PowerMac.
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You are referring to traders, not investors.

It is kind of semantics, as a trader is a very short-term investor, but I corrected it for clarification.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Oh wow, you're very lucky. Congrats I guess, lol

It's been a long and mostly good ride. And to be honest, yes, I consider myself more lucky than smart. The smartest thing I did over these last twenty years was not to panic every time the gloom and doom peddlers were talking about the end of the world. I've been selling this position gradually over the last few years anyway, not because I believe Apple is past it, but because I am ridiculously overweighted in the one stock. The proceeds as they are generated are going into index funds.
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It is kind of semantics, as a trader is a very short-term investor, but I corrected it for clarification.

Well, right, but that was my point. If you are trying to profit by short-term movements in stocks, you are essentially a speculator trading on rumors. People who call the markets glorified casinos are fixated on that sort of "investing." If you look at, say the 30-year chart for the S&P 500, no way would you call that gambling.

 

[Abazigal]

This kind of "success" will keep Timmy doing what he is doing.

By the time Apple realizes they've made a mistake, it'll be too late.

Both Microsoft and Google are playing the long game, and when the sh hits the fan, it'll be too late.

Apple is in chaos. This is nothing but a mask.

This article gives a good glimpse inside the madness:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-20/how-apple-alienated-mac-loyalists

Last year alone, I bought the 9.7" iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, series 2 Apple Watch and Airpods. All great products that I am using happily in my everyday life.

Keep this up and I will have to start filing for bankruptcy soon. Care to tell me again what exactly Apple is doing "wrong" here?

 

[Juicy Box]

Well, right, but that was my point. If you are trying to profit by short-term movements in stocks, you are essentially a speculator trading on rumors. People who call the markets glorified casinos are fixated on that sort of "investing." If you look at, say the 30-year chart for the S&P 500, no way would you call that gambling.

We agree.... That pretty much sums up the greater fool theory, and pretty much my point.

But keep in mind that all investments, long or short-term, have risk and therefore could be considered gambling, but again, this is semantics.

But, looking at the S&P over the past 30 years doesn't really mean anything other than a trend. It could always go the other way, and usually does at some point, only to come back even higher.....

 

[Larry-K]

Whoever bought a macintosh in 1996 probably wishes they spent that money on Apple shares instead. It'd be worth a million probably.

If I took all the money I spent on Macs, and had bought stock with it, I'd have $4Million in the bank.

Next time I'll know better.

 

[IJ Reilly]

We agree.... That pretty much sums up the greater fool theory, and pretty much my point.

But keep in mind that all investments, long or short-term, have risk and therefore could be considered gambling, but again, this is semantics.

But, looking at the S&P over the past 30 years doesn't really mean anything other than a trend. It could always go the other way, and usually does at some point, only to come back even higher.....

Okay, but risk and reward are tied together inexorably. The only way to avoid risk entirely is to accept a level of reward that probably won't even keep pace with inflation.

The longterm S&P 500 trend is quite meaningful in terms of understanding the value of investing as opposed to trading. You can find calculators out on the net that show you how much you'd have today if you invested, say $100 every month in an S&P 500 fund over that time. The results are pretty astonishing. No, you won't make money every day or month or even year, but if you are steady about your investing, the returns can't be duplicated. I got lucky with AAPL but I wish I'd known about this 30 years ago, and bought fewer individual stocks and high overhead mutual funds.

A lot of people turn away from investing because they think it requires some kind of Las Vegas casino mentality or stock picker voodoo. They are losing out, big time. Sorry, I can get kind of religious about this. I wish more people got it.

 

[Juicy Box]

Okay, but risk and reward are tied together inexorably. The only way to avoid risk entirely is to accept a level of reward that probably won't even keep pace with inflation.

The longterm S&P 500 trend is quite meaningful in terms of understanding the value of investing as opposed to trading. You can find calculators out on the net that show you how much you'd have today if you invested, say $100 every month in an S&P 500 fund over that time. The results are pretty astonishing. No, you won't make money every day or month or even year, but if you are steady about your investing, the returns can't be duplicated. I got lucky with AAPL but I wish I'd known about this 30 years ago, and bought fewer individual stocks and high overhead mutual funds.

A lot of people turn away from investing because they think it requires some kind of Las Vegas casino mentality or stock picker voodoo. They are losing out, big time. Sorry, I can get kind of religious about this. I wish more people got it.

I completely agree.

Btw, I think index ETFs are great and easy long term investment for anyone, especially for younger people. There is still risk, but as you said, it typically has a year over year average of 8-10% for the popular index ETFs.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I completely agree.

Btw, I think index ETFs are great and easy long term investment for anyone, especially for younger people. There is still risk, but as you said, it typically has a year over year average of 8-10% for the popular index ETFs.

And risk can be mitigated by spreading the investment out into multiple sectors. A number of automatically rebalancing ETF vehicles can be found out there. They are low-cost. For a younger person though I'd say start by picking any S&P 500 index fund and drop something into it every month.

 

[Jefe's MacAir]

The Airpods and iPhone 7 is a failure. You can sit them side by side.

As a matter of fact, put those new Macs with them too. And actually, you can sit the iPad Pro there. And the watch.

A bundle of failure.

I wish I could fail as well as Apple does.

 

[freepomme]

I wish I could fail as well as Apple does.

Hmph.

Oh ok. So your avoiding and deflecting away from the questions posed to you on three posts now. Thanks for your time.

I told yall back last Fall. I told you so. And I was right. One. Mo. Gain.

 

[melendezest]

Last year alone, I bought the 9.7" iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, series 2 Apple Watch and Airpods. All great products that I am using happily in my everyday life.

Keep this up and I will have to start filing for bankruptcy soon. Care to tell me again what exactly Apple is doing "wrong" here?

Underestimating the competition by spinning its wheels, especially with the Mac, and not turning iOS into a more powerful and capable OS.

Glad Apple's current offerings are doing it for you, though.

Sadly, I want nothing they currently make, as they currently make it.

 

[Karma*Police]

Just wait for the earnings.
Even with the Note 7 scandal, Q4 sales have not met expectations (iPhone 7, new MacBook Pro, ...).

I wish it wasn't true: I own some Apple Stocks.

No one knows if sales met expectations or not... unless, of course, you're an Apple exec and you're warning people to sell AAPL stock on MacRumors?

 

[john123]

The market and AAPL the stock have very little to do with Apple the company. It's primarily legalized gambling on a massive scale.

I don't know why everyone says stuff like this. There's decades of academic evidence to show that the market is definitely not gambling.

 

[The Barron]

I've always liked how willing people are to say Apple is doomed… without giving any sort of timeframe. I'm doomed, you're doomed, we're all doomed if you want to be vague about it. If you keep saying Apple will fail, eventually you'll have to be right.

Here are some other prognostications:
You'll blink!
You'll sleep!
You'll feel slightly ill due to some smell!

I'm doomed all right. My long time Apple $hare$ just keep chugging along and are worth a bundle, so keep up with the gloom & doom folk$!

 

[elppaapple]

Basics of stock market trading, sell when high and buy when low.
Unless Apple comes out with a car that flies or a phone that relieves stress I am sitting out.

 

[MacBH928]

Thats probably what were Yahoo CEOs thinking back in 2002

Waiting for the "Apple is doomed" comments.

In 3..2..1..

 

[raghu8912]

Waiting for the "Apple is doomed" comments.

In 3..2..1..

Credit goes to Trump, no Tweet from Trump yet ?

 

[44267547]

Last year alone, I bought the 9.7" iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, series 2 Apple Watch and Airpods. All great products that I am using happily in my everyday life.

Keep this up and I will have to start filing for bankruptcy soon. Care to tell me again what exactly Apple is doing "wrong" here?

That forum member you quoted is always negative towards Apple.

Anyways, 2016 was a good year for my purchases from Apple. Looking forward to 2017 to seeing what they have in store. New iPad in March and iPhone 8 to name a few on my List. Perhaps a new Apple Watch too.

 

[raghu8912]

I agree with you on Microsoft-- the new management is making some good decisions. Not so sure on Google though-- I get the sense Alphabet is what happens when you give a couple geeks a slush fund. Fun tech, no doubt, but I'm not sure what good it's doing for their business.

I get the sense Alphabet is what happens when you give a couple geeks a slush fund.
Party is over at Google with the arrival of new CFO.
Google fiber: expansion to new cities on hold.
Robotics division: Sold.
Satellite imagery: in the market for buyers.
Satellites/Drones/Balloons to provide WiFi: Closed.

 

[dilbert99]

After a visit to apple stores this weekend and seeing the crickets chirping at the watch and Macbook pro tables, I made the decision to sell during that next mystery uptick. And here we are.

My local Apple shops are a lot less busy than they used to be.