“I’ll make this simple. Apple (AAPL) is 2008’s best stock because it wallops rival electronics retailers in generating sales per square foot,” Tim Beyers writes for The Motley Fool.
“With just 1.5 million square feet, spread out across roughly 200 stores around the globe, Apple — the 30-year-old Mac daddy — is but a baby when it comes to retailing,” Beyers writes. “Not for long, though. That 4-T black turtleneck you bought little Stevie for Christmas is already ripping at the seams. Apple plans 40 new stores in 2008, many of which will be planted overseas. Mexico, too, if the rumors are true.”
Beyers looks at Apple’s various products to see if 2008 will usher in the phrases, “Apple: Netflix killer,” “Apple: Palm killer,” and “Apple: Windows killer.”
“Apple is disrupting every business it enters, and in most cases, doing so successfully. Think about how extraordinary that is. All Microsoft had to do was disrupt the PC business once to unleash billions in market value,” Beyers writes.
“How much more will Apple unleash when it disrupts two? Three? Four? You get the picture. Apple, like so many rebel stocks before it, is a misunderstood multibagger in the making. $200 a share is just the beginning,” Beyers writes.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Mike in Helsinki” for the heads up.]
Buy now, there is a sale going on! It’s down about $3
All the toys, gadgets and hobbies have been great for AAPL and it looks like that will go on and on and on. Such are the major ingredients of greed and rewards of Capitalism – for which I am its strongest supporter.
However, I wonder if there is any possibility of Steve spinning off the Macintosh computer line to a computer company that does nothing else than develop the finest computers the brightest computer minds in the world can do.
That would free the chip makers and coders to do serious work and leave the toy shop to Steve to play with.
Just a thought, but a good one.
“I wonder if there is any possibility of Steve spinning off the Macintosh computer line “
That creates just another commodity box maker. Apple isn’t going to unbundle the user experience like that. Besides, the physical box is only a part and I would aregue a lesser part of the Mac experience. That is one of the widely imsunderstood elements of the Mac world. People think all Apple does is make pretty boxes and those of us who use them know that’s not true.
@I Wonder: “Just a thought, but a good one.”
No, it is not. It is a very bad idea.
What you and many other Mac-centric fanboys don’t seem to appreciate is the fact that the “toys” as you call them are all extensions of the same core technologies (pun intended). It is becoming apparent that the crown jewels of the Apple kingdom are in OSX and all its variants. What we are witnessing right now is just the very start of the synergies that will occur as the various OSX implementations begin to cross fertilize each other. The Macintosh, as we know it, will be made even better by the prudent introduction of technologies that are pioneered on other platforms such as the iPhone. One imminent example of this is the use of multi-touch gestures on laptop touch pads — expect to see this demo’d by Steve at MacWorld.
Apple reached the point in its development where it is now more valuable than the sum of its parts. It would be absurd in the extreme to take it apart.
Brokers are desperate for any gains at the moment to pay for 2007’s losses, so expect any gains each day/week to quickly drop down again so they can make some profits. Just when things look good (MW 08) they will go bad. Just when things take a steep down turn, they will jump back even higher.
For those of us who aren’t into daily gains, keep it long term, ignore the daily loses and gain long term. Higher Market share = Higher Sales = Higher Profits = Higher Share price.
Has Apple closed above $200 a share?
I would expect a split in the stock soon.
I wonder writes: “I wonder if there is any possibility of Steve spinning off the Macintosh computer line”
That would make no sense. Even the “finest computer” must be viewed holistically, as the marriage of hardware and software. Apple’s computer line runs OS X – as do Apple TV and iPhone/Touch. And all are sold in the Apple Store. OS X is, if you will, the “one ring that binds them all”. It’s called synergy, and no one does it better than Apple. Why break up something that’s working?
Conventional wisdom is that Steve will defeat the music industry (and movies, too).
Reality is music and movies biz is bigger than Steve will ever be. The best way for them to win the current unauthorized use crisis is to beat Steve. That will send a chilling message to illegal downloaders and distributors everywhere.
If they defeat Steve, all he will have left is a bunch of Mac computers on his stores’ shelves. What will that be worth in terms of AAPL share price?
So, load up on all the AAPL you can afford or are willing to risk your financial life upon. But, keep at least one eye on the Steve vs Music War or wish you had when the stock hits new lows.
“The best way for them to win the current unauthorized use crisis is to beat Steve.”
Au contraire, mon petit chou. The success of the iTunes Store has demonstrated that, when it comes to “unauthorized use”, following Steve is better than the alternative. Having been given a guide, they may now think they can do it all themselves, but they’re wrong.
@Then There’s This: Reality is music and movies biz is bigger than Steve will ever be.
Lordy, did everyone lose a million brain cells over the New Year’s holiday?
Exercise: Add up the market value of all the music and movie companies. Heck, just for giggles, throw in the major TV networks. Compare to the market value of Apple, Inc.
I think you will discover that all them put together are significantly less valuable than Apple. And there isn’t a single one of them that Apple couldn’t buy for cash.
@Then There’s This:
You should be considering the facts here.
If the music and movie industries try and screw iTunes, their largest on-line retailer and growing.. they’d be castrating themselves with a dull blade.
Apple doesn’t need them to keep selling iPods, but, they do need Apple to keep them afloat.
@ Randi Z
Share price has nothing to do with whether there will be a split nowadays.
Google is near $700 and there is no talk of a split. Berkshire Hathaway “A” stock is $139,000/share. A high share price is this market is a status symbol, not a liability.