Like I said, the packaging adds to the experience. But I wouldn't want a slick package to go along with a piece of shit OS and flaky hardware. There was a point where apple innovated so fast and so well that people would dump a year old laptop to replace it with the new model for the better CPU, screen, battery life, etc.
When Apple debuts a new product line, this'll happen a lot. The first entry into the market is usually pretty but underpowered (the first iPad and MacBook Air come to mind). Then, once the supply chain is humming, they drop the price a bit (or keep it the same), and crank the hell out of the stats. Twice as powerful. Major battery life improvements. But because the product has huge fit and finish, people don't think of that first entry device as a prototype or half-baked, like they do with a lot of other hardware out there. Apple seems to do best in green field/blue ocean (can't remember which one is the correct term) areas where consumers have no context and the product is seen as being out there on its own completely. Then an underpowered entry model doesn't look wimpy. The Air's first model is a great example of a borderline case here: it's a laptop, but it weights 2.5lbs, and is still more powerful than those shitty Eee netbooks, so you can't totally compare on specs alone (the weight argument counteracts it). After an iteration, you get an even lighter 11" model, and insane battery life on the 13", making it the road warrior device of choice for C-Level execs and sales guys (again, the sharp design makes it attractive to those guys aver their old Lenovos). So, getting into the On-demand TV, wearable computing, and other nascent markets is where they need to go to be seen as an innovator, but we're starting to run out of those in the direct halo of computing devices.
No way; this is a short term play, and the stock will crash after the report. It almost always takes a dive after the earnings report.
I know it hasn't been on yet, but you don't see this type of bullish trend right before the call on the same day. I suspect it's better than people forecast; nothing amazing, but not the huge drop that many suspected.
Just looked it up: the conference call is at 2pm PST; we'll see after hours movement tonight then movement tomorrow obviously.
Free cash flow yield (free cash flow รท price). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfkM_a4PatE&feature=player_embedded [video=youtube;rfkM_a4PatE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfkM_a4PatE&feature=player_embedded[/video] He seems to think this is a great time to buy since the spike will normalize.
http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/aapl/after-hours#.UXb01aLkuSr AAPL way up suddenly after hours, seven minutes before the start of the conference call. Maybe you're going to be right after all, Mags.
http://www.tuaw.com/2013/04/23/apple-q2-2013-earnings-call-liveblog/ They slightly beat their guidance (43.6B vs 41-43B guidance).
It was just a feeling. Nothing too substantial that gave me some edge. What I seen so many years is they usually undersell their stock on the last quarter; so they exceed expectations on the next quarter
One thing they did differently this time is offer increased value with stock buybacks and increased dividend, per public recommendations by Warren Buffett.
Yeah I noticed that too. Buffett really likes apple long. Maybe he just wants them to really do it the right way.
I have no agenda against the stock. But I do have a point. And that point is that you have no actual valuation model, just a set of opinions that you think value the stock at $500 per share. Any or all of your assumptions could easily be off by 10%. So you're final "valuation" estimate could be 20-40% off. At that point, it is completely useless as it could be worth $200/share or $700/share. As for what companies I buy... I don't. I trade ETFs, futures and options.
They are trading 6x earnings. The norm is 14x earnings. They have zero debt. At 14x earnings; it's 790 stock And they just announced they will give our 100 billion to its shareholders!
One "theory" I read was that investors are willing to put up with the incredibly low margins from Amazon thinking that they will eventually push everybody else out of business. Then, after that is done, they can start increasing margins and get their P/E back in line. I don't personally agree with this theory at all, which is why I'd be hesitant to touch amzn.
