Those who think Steve Jobs’ health is on the line should take 75% of their Apple stock off the table, says TheStreet.com’s Jim Cramer:
Direct link to video here.
An attempt to drive down the price of AAPL? An earnest opinion? A mixture of both or something else? What do you think?
One thing’s for sure: there’s only one Steve Jobs. The good news is that he’s still here, Apple says publicly that he’s okay (the SEC does not take kindly to lying about things that are material to a company’s fortunes,) and Apple is a very likely place to attract the next Steve Jobs. In fact, he or she may already work there.
As for Jim Cramer, please look at the related articles list carefully. It’s like a conflicted, torturous roller-coaster for day-traders.
He could have said: There are lots of essential people in the cemeteries!
… lots of indispensable people…
Steve is important. There really isn’t another person that we know of in the company who has the drive, the vision, that he does. Apple would be a lot different without Steve.
Personally I’ve always believed without Jim Cramer, there is no TheStreet.com.
Hmmm…… No TheStreet.com…..
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Steve Jobs certainly pushes the company forward, and he’s a great salesman/showman, but even if something terrible were to happen I wouldn’t be concerned – at least not in the short run. The company is in great shape, has a series of strong products that can only really be improved upon and no doubt a plan for their next few steps.
unfortunatly he is right. i wouldn’t be an investor in the company without steve jobs, either. i think apple will have a few more good years after he left (i am afraid of the other word) executing on his already established plans but afterwards will drown in mediocrity like all the other tech-companies around.
mdn word “picture” as in: this is not a nice picture.
People who take Jim Cramers advice deserve to lose their money.
Though his name often appears as the “inventor” on Apple’s patents, Jobs is not an inventor in the mold of Edison, or even early GE’s Steinmetz. He is the synergizer, the driver of ideas. He is the visionary who knows where he wants to go, and drives those around him to deliver to his exacting standards. He is sui generis. We won’t know how well Apple does without him until he is gone. Here’s to wishing him a long, healthy tenure at Apple.
Knowing Steve, he’s most probably already wrote the Apple Bible including the 10 commandments of Apple, and mapped out the next 250 years of how to revolutionize consumer technology every 3 years.
AAaaarrrrgggghhhh! I wish people would stop manipulating the stock! I though for sure it would be over $210 by now.
Steve is a true visionary, but I believe Apple would continue to be successful in his absence. He’s planted a lot of seeds in the past decade that will continue to drive the company for some time. As well, the people who work closely with Jobs aren’t morons and have probably learned a lot from his extraordinary leadership. I would love to see Ive in the CEO position for his creative vision, but I’m not sure how business savvy he is.
The stock would definitely suffer in the short term because so many ‘so-called’ financial experts have tied the loss of Steve-O with Apple’s success.
Why do people listen to this fool???? He’s wrong 80% of the time. Here’s yet another miss from the “great” stock manipulator Jim Cramer.
Without Jobs there is no Apple.
Would there be a Star Wars franchise without George Lucas? (No.)
Disney went to hell once Walt Disney died.
Once the visionary leaves, the vision dies and then the company.
Now if Cramer would retire….no one would care or notice. LOL.
—-
To stop these Job´s health rumors, Apple needs to be more open about his health.
With a name like TheStreet.com, it’s no wonder they’re always stepping in it. Kerb your dog! Maybe.
Steve Jobs turned Apple around and laid out the roadmap for future development. He has put the right people in charge of the right projects. Everyone is on the same page.
Apple could continue for years following Steve’s vision if he decided to retire tomorrow.
In fact, he should retire early but remain on The Board of Directors for a while to maintain stockholder confidence. Find a dynamic individual, within Apple, to be the new figurehead. Keep the team headed in the right direction.
The thought that a dead Steve Jobs equals a dead Apple Inc. is just absurd. Is code going to go bad like Microsoft’s with no Jobs?
Will the anti-gravity bike not lift off if he disappears?
Oh, oh! Just broke the NDA.
Nevertheless, Apple Inc. is in good shape and will continue to innovate, with or without Jobs.
I mean, how hard can it be to keep ahead of Microsoft, Nokia, Motorola, Sony and Dell?
It certainly would be a different Apple, but it would survive. There’s a lot of talented people there…Ives is no idiot.
That said, even my broker advises exiting AAPL the moment Steve is not the man in charge…
Gary for the Plain Truth,
Disney is stronger than ever today, decades after Walt’s death. Keep that in mind when thinking about Apple post-Jobs.
Fact: There may already be someone at Apple or being courted by Apple, who’s as good or even better than Steve Jobs, to carry Apple through the post-Jobs future.
We won’t know until Jobs steps down.
I’m expecting/hoping for the best: A long time with Steve, and then a worthy replacement when Steve is enjoying his retirement.
I love these various prognosticators. My advice is this: For 6 months write down every prediction and recommendation they make. Don’t check on anything, just write them down. At one year, check them out and see how they are doing. Do this again at two years. If, at two years, you find the prognosticator to be reasonably accurate, start paying more attention to him or her.
6 months ago, I remember reading all these predictions about the coming recession this Summer. Well, Summer is here and so far we have not had even ONE down quarter, much less the two in the row required to meet the accepted definition of a recession.
Enough said.
What about Jonathan Ive? Is he a nobody?
Jim Cramer has stated that smart hedge fund managers use misinformation or partial information to drIve prices down. I think that is being done here. Steve Jobs is clearly the key to Apple’s success. However, the key thing Steve Jobs has brilliantly done is to create a vertically integrated option to the Microsoft/OEM horizontal model. Apple is the only real option to Microsoft/OEM. That differentiation, and OSX which is a key to it, will continue to create areas of opportunity that only vertical integration can provide. Or that is provides best. Apple will definitely miss Steve Jobs when he gone (hopefully many years from now) but his legacy will have been to build a better architecture for computing than anyone else and that legacy will be a great investment vehicle for years to come, despite the fear, uncertainty and doubt Jim Cramer attempts to sow.
I don’t think Jim Cramer looks so healthy on this video. Is he ailing?
@HMCIV
Well said
I’m available..
But these kinds of ridiculous articles only make it more likely than ever that Jobs will still be running Apple in 25 years time…
Gawd, but do you supposed SOMEBODY inside Apple is/has been planning for the transition of power and vision that is Steve Jobs? What abject hubris for Jim Cramer (or anyone else for that matter) to believe that only WE fans and investors understand his importance to the company.
I’m so sick and damned tired of analysts that (as Will Shakie might say today) first we should shoot all the analysts–THEN the lawyers.
There is another Steve….
That settles it. Cramer is a pompous ass. Does he think that Jobs personnally wrote every line of code in OSX? That there is no one else at Apple who understands the architecture of OSX? Does he think the development teams at Apple won’t be driven by competition to at least maintain parity with other designs out there? Even if Apple were to looses its “edge,” the robust underpinnings of OS X would make it a superior choice to any other option: look at all the people who want to run OS X on beige boxes. And what about Apple’s other areas of expertise such as supply chain management and retail, did Jobs personally create these in his spare time?
Sure, Apple needs someone to identify the opportunities, create the product strategies, and motivate the development teams, but Steve isn’t the only one who can fill that role. There are certainly enough visionary people with the drive needed.
What would be a mistake would be to put the company in the hands of marketeers or CFO-types. That would indeed bring back the bad old days of Sculley etc.
Gary – your as brainlessly opinionated and cool as Chrissy1 or the Zune guy… you guys are cool.
Everybody is such an authority these days….
Steve is the competent tyrant that lays out the vision and drives the company to execute on that vision by creating great products.
http://www.fundadvice.com/articles/psychological-hurdles/paul-merriman-ten-reasons-to-ignore-jim-cramer-s-advice.html
Let me start by saying that Steve Jobs is special, and when he steps down Apple will be different. People know two versions of Apple from history, Successful Apple, with Steve at the Helm, and Disaster Apple without him. The assumption of the Financial types is that it is either one or the other. The problem is that they only see Steve. When he was forced out by the soda salesman, he took the best engineers and Apple was run by businessmen with no sense of art and style. They failed to innovate. Is Steve an innovator? Perhaps, but he is more a motivator of innovators. It was Woz that created the computer, it was Steve that built the company. Did Jobs invent object oriented design? No. but He motivated the people that did and channeled their energy. When steve steps down, wether 20 years from now or five, he is going to leave that staff behind. Apple could continue and even perhaps grow as a company if they do the following:
1. Hire a personable motivational type with a passion for computers as an art more than a science.
2. Hire someone that is a perfectionist and let him have complete control of product releases. (so he will release things that work well, not to cater to a sales cycle)
3. The key design people stay with Apple and act as Mentors for the next generation.
What Apple can’t do is:
1. Accept the notion that Apple is Steve Jobs – He is not
2. Hire a traditional CEO. He has to understand business but live art
3. Loose key people. This will be difficult, because most of them could do well on their own)
Seems this concept cuts both ways:
IF we need to be concerned about Apple because of Steve
Then folks should REALLY be concerned about Microsoft because of ____________
BC
@ Gary for the Plain Truth
The Star Wars franchise would have been a lot better off if Lucas had kicked the bucket after Return of the Jedi.
@cb
I can’t stand ChrissyOne or Zune Tang either. The first is a coy know it all that should be fired from Apple for the clues she gave as to the name of Snow Leopard before the name was even released, and the second just isn’t funny and never was.
The cult of Jobs will kill Apple. As long as the myth of Jobs’ deity is promulgated no one at Apple will fill Jobs shoes. End result, when Jobs dies, there will be no mere mortal capable of assuming leadership at Apple.
Unless Jobs privately and publicly ensures that his successor and associated staff are in place when he dies, the quest for control at Apple will turn Cupertino into the Silicon Valley version of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Jobs’ greatest innovation for Apple will NOT be the iMac or the iPhone – it will be to guarantee a smooth transition of control at Apple.
Given Apple’s furtiveness and silence regarding every minute detail of its company secrets, it is doubtful that Apple will suddenly become as transparent as the Giant Glass Cube. However, Apple has surprised people before. Becoming more open and honest with its share holders and consumers would be a good thing.
Forget trying to find consistency or logic in Jim’s trades. He wakes up brand new every day and plays the trade accordingly. If you can understand what he’s *not* saying, and see the patterns in the chaos, you can make some money.
Otherwise, just listen to Uncle Warren, and buy on weakness and hold.
Apple has done quite well under the tyranny of that manipulative dreamer. He has been the soul of the company.
Apple has done poorly under the ‘leadership’ of bean-counters. Damn near died.
While I’m not going to suggest that Apple will sink like a stone (again) should Jobs depart, I will point out that most of the reasons Apple is doing “well” are because of things that bean-counters would never have tried. Ive might be visionary enough to keep it working, but not if he’s surrounded by bean-counters.
Isn’t that what just happened these last many days? They’ve taken aapl out of their portfolios
Ha ha might actually be the right one here…
This is not the 1980s. Steve has disciples who see that his recipe works very well. If Steve disappeared, there are others who could move forward. Now with hindsight, the company would not be handed over to sugar-water salesmen.
No Steve and the stock would drop. But, with time and consistent execution, the new mature Apple, Inc. could still be a powerhouse. Enjoy Steve while we have him, but the end does not have to be here once he’s gone. All it’ll take is for consistent product releases post-Steve and people will continue to buy. If anything, he installed the structure to maintain it.
That’s perhaps one of his best achievements.
People take this guy seriously? The street is like The Enquirer…
it’s not like SJ is sitting at a desk somewhere writing code for the Mac…
His vision has spread to all who work there. no doubt it is infused in the place. If he goes, he will be missed. Period.
But I don’t see it as the end of the line, or even the end of this super nova phase of Apple.
Is about what people think. So everyone should sell their stock when they think steve jobs is about to leave. Then buy it back after the initial freak out.
I am sure there are lots of smart people in that company trying to mimic steve.
What happens to MS when Ballmer leaves? The opposisite of what happens to Apple when Jobs leaves. Here’s hoping both have many years ahead of them.
Maybe there are few of us who don’t put so much weight on replacing people and substituting moments the moment we encounter them instead of just appreciating them for a silly while. Nature doesn’t appear to be all that static, and life is so often but fluid. Expecting anything else is just oh so conservative hanging-on. Here maybe is the season for the Apple pickings and it appears to be a good harvest. But there were a few cold seasons before, as surely a few ahead.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man, Steven Paul Jobs, take a bow. Here’s wishing you get well, be well, do well for years to come.
Cheers.
It’s time to play “Pick the CEO”!!! (applause)
Our first contestant is jitnol. How ya doing, jitnol?
OK, I guess.
Well, today you may win the sooper dooper grand prize. Are you ready?
(gulp) I think so.
If Apple’s vision is only what Jobs sees, Apple is blind without him. Who else at Apple has vision? Who else has universal respect and admiration at Apple? Who else has the technological insight and expertise to keep Apple moving forward?
Name them. (Insert Jeopardy them music for dramatic effect.)
Ummm, ahhhh, ummm. Could you repeat the question?
BZZZZZZZZT
Oh, too bad, jitnol. You lose!
The company is in great shape, has a series of strong products that can only really be improved upon and no doubt a plan for their next few steps. —M.X.N.T.4.1
But without Steve Jobs, what happens after that? What’s left is a company that can really only improve upon what they’ve already got. Steve’s guiding vision, which is always looking beyond Apple’s current capabilities, would be sorely missed. Steve Jobs may not be the end-all and be-all of Apple, but his vision and his drive are certainly the heart and soul of Apple. Apple is undoubtedly full of really smart people. Unfortunately, training and intelligence have absolutely nothing to do with the quality called “vision.” Any smart person can extrapolate today’s reality into a hypothetical future; but only a visionary can see possibilities that are entirely beyond what can be guessed at based on the realities of today. If you look back on what Steve was working on at NeXT, you’ll see more than beginnings of much that later became OS X and the current Macintosh line. In my book, Steve’s “the man.” No others need apply.
Jim Cramer is a tool. Give me a break…if Steve jobs died tomorrow, Apple would STILL be the best positioned tech company for the NEXT 10 YEARS. Anyone who thinks the culture that Steve has infused in this company would just up and VANISH is a freaking moron.
Jim Cramer tries this sort of nonsense all the time. Here’s another example …
http://blogs.business2.com/apple/2007/08/how-to-trash-a-.html
Here’s one piece of advice on Apple stock. It’s also true for Microsoft and any other stock. If a dip in Apple’s price is going to cause you to ‘lose your shirt’, then you are not sufficiently diversified. Never have more than 4 percent of your money in any one stock. There are only a few exceptions to this rule and I doubt if any of them apply to more than .01% of us.
Enjoy Apple products, but don’t marry the stock.
When AAPL hit $117 this spring I watched Cramer say, “stay away from tech. Even Apple.” I’m convinced that he just wanted to make sure he and his collegues got back in at that low point. Everything that comes out of his mouth is for his personal gain.
Steve Jobs IS a visionary, is a showman and is the spirit of Apple Inc. However, the place is full of bright, forward looking and very competent people. Cramer is an idiot who sells short all of us at Apple who do a great job!
Is it just me, or does she ask, at 00:22, what would happen if Apple had no ass?
True. Jim Cramer doesn’t look so good- looks drawn, gaunt… a little crazed around the eyes. Has he had his thyroid checked? Reminds me of Rock Hudson in the Beginning of the End. He needs to take a break- but how’ll the Street survive without him? Would there even be a stock market if Jim Cramer were to disappear? Once he’s gone, show me the money- please! My God,it was so much easier in the old days- playing Monopoly, Easy Money… GI Joe..
While Cramer has been right long term to appreciate the obvious–Apple is one of the most fabulous companies and stocks of this decade–his timing has been almost exactly wrong. Wrong enough to probably be useful for your own timing (if you do such a thing)–as a contrary indicator.
So I guess $170-$180 now is not the top that $180-$200 was a few months ago.
Real negative news on Steve’s health would hit the stock, probably hard. If it did it would be a buying opportunity. Steve is a great leader, but he doesn’t write the code, design the products, negotiate the deals, etc.
If you believe SJ, hands-on everything is the key, you should sell regardless of his health. This is a much bigger company than the one he turned around… they do a great job of keeping it as simple as possible… but… the company he turned around had hardware and Mac OS. They now have that, plus both consumer and pro apps, mobile OS X, iphone hardware… and being the dominant force in the music business, which hardware, software AND music retailing sides.
Plus they run the best retail operation on the planet.
The best thing is that SJ isn’t a young web2.0 guy. He’s in his 50s, he’s seen it all, he’s made all the mistakes…. including choice of a CEO. He’s capable of finding succession… and he’s not going to leave his legacy in poor hands.
Hopefully it’ll happen years from now, when, Gates-like, he just wants to move on.
====
I think my coffee kicked in.
Cramer is a great AAPL contrary indicator.
And these are all grow-or-die propositions. If iTunes music collides with video, ipods collide with phones, gps, and small mobile computing in general.
Steve can’t run this all himself.
And he should be able to (1) pick the leader who can run it in the future (through vision, leadership, and delegation); (2) pick a frontman who can rally the troops and the fans.
One other idea comes to mind… the SPIRIT of Apple, the loyalty of its users and the appeal of its brand, was alive and well in the 90s… without SJ. The company was managed poorly and faltered. But the idea didn’t.
Hopefully, when the time comes (which may be well off in the future)… Steve will have the same clarity to choose successors that he’s had with products. The hit, of course, will be the people who are passed over and leave.
[apologies.. this is a corrected entry as somehow my paragraphs got rearranged in the last one]
While Cramer has been right long term to appreciate the obvious–Apple is one of the most fabulous companies and stocks of this decade–his timing has been almost exactly wrong. Wrong enough to probably be useful for your own timing (if you do such a thing)–as a contrary indicator.
So I guess $170-$180 now is not the top that $180-$200 was a few months ago.
Real negative news on Steve’s health would hit the stock, probably hard. If it did it would be a buying opportunity. Steve is a great leader, but he doesn’t write the code, design the products, negotiate the deals, etc.
If you believe SJ, hands-on everything is the key, you should sell regardless of his health. This is a much bigger company than the one he turned around… they do a great job of keeping it as simple as possible… but… the company he turned around had hardware and Mac OS. They now have that, plus both consumer and pro apps, mobile OS X, iphone hardware… and being the dominant force in the music business, with hardware, software AND music retailing sides.
Plus they run the best retail operation on the planet.
And these are all grow-or-die propositions. If iTunes music collides with video, ipods collide with phones, gps, and small mobile computing in general.
Steve can’t run this all himself.
And he should be able to (1) pick the leader who can run it in the future (through vision, leadership, and delegation); (2) pick a frontman who can rally the troops and the fans.
One other idea comes to mind… the SPIRIT of Apple, the loyalty of its users and the appeal of its brand, was alive and well in the 90s… without SJ. The company was managed poorly and faltered. But the idea didn’t.
Hopefully, when the time comes (which may be well off in the future)… Steve will have the same clarity to choose successors that he’s had with products. The hit, of course, will be the people who are passed over and leave.
The best thing is that SJ isn’t a young web2.0 guy. He’s in his 50s, he’s seen it all, he’s made all the mistakes…. including choice of a CEO. He’s capable of finding succession… and he’s not going to leave his legacy in poor hands.
Hopefully it’ll happen years from now, when, Gates-like, he just wants to move on.
====
I think my coffee kicked in.
Cramer is a great AAPL contrary indicator.
“Steve can’t run this all himself.”
Bingo…
Nor has he. They have a sound aggressive and secretive business model. BUT your smokin hoochie to think he’s done it all himself.
This is the problem with the cult. They:
#1 – still believe in fantasies that one man with a kablilliob $$ company is solely responsible.
#2 – they are currently making tiny sacrifices to their tiny Steve alters to keep him healthy.
Nobody want Steve jobs ill. Because he’s the spokesperson of a really fun company. YES – he steers the ship and yes he sees the obvious once they have attained success.
But he’s not the only cog in the machine.
Just so you know, this is the most *transparent* stock manipulation effort I’ve ever seen him make. You can see him smiling while he says these somber things.
And then next month, when the iPhone sales figures start to appear ….
Without steve we would see larry and sergey spend a record amount to form Gooapple.
Steve will “retire” once his vision of Apple products serving as the digital hub for people’s lives is complete. He’s got the home office (Macs), the personal communication device (iPhone), mobile computing (MacBooks), the den or living room with the iPod(& iPod Hi Fi) and the AppleTV, all connected via Airport. He’s nearly there.
I think Cramer is still an idiot. Hey Jim…do I sell that rock solid Bear Stearns stock yet?
just my $0.02
After Walt Disney died 1966, everyone at the studio, from executives to animators to imagineers, would ask “What would Walt do?”
Steve Jobs has already built a solid foundation for when that day finally arrives – everyone at Apple will ask “What would Steve do?”
“the SEC does not take kindly to lying about things that are material to a company’s fortunes”
it doesnt take kindly to backdated stock options either, but sometimes it just can’t prove enough to get a conviction.
“After Walt Disney died 1966,… “What would Walt do?”
Steve Jobs has already built a solid foundation”
So lots of people around Apple are going to be having paranoid, psychotic ranting exchanges with each other. Sorry you have to actually BE Steve to pull that off.
My iMac runs great regardless of Steve Jobs. Thank you very much.
“Steve Jobs IS a visionary, is a showman and is the spirit of Apple Inc. However, the place is full of bright, forward looking and very competent people.”
As are many places. But in the case of Apple the Secret Sauce is Steve.
Add to that, the departure/death of Steve will give many members of the Steve personality cult the emotional out they need. “I supported Apple right up until Steve departed, after that, they were never the same so I went an brought a faster, cheaper, more compatible Windows PC”.
cb:
Your metaphor ain’t working. If Steve Jobs steers the ship he is a mere seaman, a deck ape at the wheel. Who is the captain giving the orders?
If what you meant is Steve Jobs is the captain of a tight ship, who will command U.S.S Apple when he is relieved? That is what is on peoples’ minds today and for the future.
Unfortunately, it appears that no one at Apple has the same vision and stage presence of the Great Prophet and Huckster. Who would you suggest has the same sagacity and salesmanship as Jobs?
Hmmm?
I completely disagree with the analogy that Steve Jobs is the Thomas Edison of our time. Edison truly was an inventor. Jobs is a visionary, but not an inventor. Jobs takes existing concepts and gets talented people to improve them – mostly through outstanding design.
Jobs is a successful strategist. Edison was weak on strategy.
Edison’s company did not fail when he passed away – it is still around today – it is called General Electric or GE.
That Cramer got this very basic analogy incorrect makes me believe that he is merely trying to manipulate the stock. Sad state of affairs that people such as Cramer are allowed to pull this kind of crap on mass media in the USA.
jim cramer is really a “SOB”.
“I completely disagree with the analogy that Steve Jobs is the Thomas Edison of our time.”
You’re right, Edison actually invented stuff, Steve just packages and sells it. PT Barnum is a better analogy.
.. whether or not Jobs is there.. who the hell is going back back to Microsoft?! Surely not I! So no matter who is in charge of Apple, I seriously doubt anyone is going bak to PC just because Jobs may be gone
Who?,
Right on, brotha!