MacDailyNews Take: And, oh, if history is any guide, some of those questions will be doozies!
Madway reports, “With a market capitalization that has approached $200 billion in recent weeks, analysts say investors may be looking for a fresh catalyst to send shares that have already more than doubled from a year ago, even higher. Shareholders want to know what Jobs has planned for the iPad, whether the iPhone can sustain its growth momentum amid greater competition, and what the company will do with its eye-popping $40 billion cash balance.”
MacDailyNews Take: Apple should keep saving the cash until they can guarantee a minimum 200-year life span for the company. Over and above that, they can spend on whatever they’d like.
Madway continues, “The iPad has generated nearly as many questions as publicity, since no one knows what the consumer appetite is for a so-called “third category” of mobile device, which bridges the gap between smartphones and laptop computers.”
MacDailyNews Take: We know what the appetite is among Apple fans, at least. So far our poll, “The next Apple product I will buy,” with nearly 2,000 responses, has 65% answering “iPad.” The distant second on the list is “Portable Mac” at 11%.
Madway continues, “Analysts’ estimates put first-year iPad sales at about 2 million to 5 million units. It will appear in stores as early as the end of March, starting at $499.”
MacDailyNews Take: The analysts’ top-end estimates are too low. Apple will easily sell in excess of 5 million iPad units in its first year. Go ahead, iCal us.
Madway continues, “The attention at last year’s meeting was focused on Jobs, whose six-month medical leave had heightened concerns about his well being at the time. But with the CEO back at the helm, and with no major issues on the voting agenda, interest may shift to operational matters. All seven of Apple’s directors will stand for re-election.”
Full article here.
I don’t know about you but I’m voting to keep every single board member…Love these people
Thanks Steve from an italian fan !
Happy Birthday from Italy !
I want to believe MDN about Apple selling more than 5 million iPads. I just wonder if the masses wont buy it not because of all of the “lacking features” bloggers whine about, but rather the fact that EVERYONE uses cell phones. The iPhone is the best cell phone, so the masses buy it. However, it will be interesting to see how a new product category does. It has to be very tough to predict.
Crabapple: I offer my congratulations to His bossness on his recovery and stewardship of Apple inc.
Q. When will Apple inc overtake M$’s market cap? and can you promise us and the applelytes that you will not give in to corporate investors demands who are in it for a quick buck of which they have made a lot of from short selling?
IM A STOCK OWNER. HOW DO I GET TO VOTE? IM NEW AT STOCK OWNING
MDN: its first full year or calendar year?
@Dodge. I get an email from my online broker that has a link to go vote.
Dodge, you had to be a shareholder of record of a certain date.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=107357&p=irol-index
the proxy was filed in late Jan, so that may have been the cut off point
Bucket list
Arrange a trip to California timed to take in an Apple Shareholder meeting. Make note to ask his Steveness some stupid question to experience the Jobs stare first hand.
@ Tiger Leopard
There is always an army of bloggers eager to repeat Microsoft’s talking points concerning any new Apple product. But that doesn’t mean that they are going to be right. In fact they are almost always wrong.
We were assured by the bloggers that without a real keyboard, the iPhone was doomed to failure, in reality it has redefined smart phones and touch screen phones now represent a big proportion of the smart phone market.
Remember when the iPhone came out and people saw them and wanted to try it ? They ended up with a silly grin and were convinced that they needed one themselves. The iPad is also going to be it’s own best publicist. Once people try one for themselves, they will be convinced that they want one.
Al Gore has done nothing for Apple and needs to go! The Feds just had an IT summit that had Microsoft there. Why was Apple not there Al? Other than being the inventor of the internet and the poster child of the global warming hoax, why should you be on the Apple board Al?
Until that certain monopoly is broken, I say save the cash. You’ll need all the funding you can get to fight that big beast.
@Jersey_Trader
I’m convinced that, with Steve Job’s noted irritation with mediocrity and famed focus on the details, that he would not tolerate a board member that did not add value to what Apple as a Company is trying to be and accomplish. Thus I continue to vote with the Company recommendation. Can’t say that about the rest of my portfolio ownings, in fact, Apple is the only proxy that I vote in accordance with Company recommendations.
Apple should save enough to buy micro$haft, then knife it!
10,000,000,000 songs.
“Steve Jobs to hold his annual face-to-face meeting with shareholders this Thursday”
Breath mint, please.
Useless Al Gore has got to go!! He has never run anything significant in the private sector. No doubt he is dead weight.
A short presentation by the CEO and one or more other people in the company about the past year, the good and the bad of it, and the prospects for the future and other measures to be brought up and voted on — perhaps a vote on changing compensation rules online meetings|web conferencing
I agree Apple has not had a really huge new product for a while and their movement toward a content provider with hardware to support it is going a different direction away from their computer line. I think Steve Jobs has hurt Apple as much as he has helped because he does not see the whole market he only see’s what he wants to see. Some of his decissions have not followed what his users want.
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