“It’s worth pointing out that Apple is not the only big tech company where there seems to be a disconnect, at least a superficial one, between the doom-saying of some investors and the company’s financial performance,” Nick Wingfield writes for The New York Times.
“For many investors, Steve Ballmer, the chief executive of Microsoft, has long been one of tech’s favorite villains. His company’s stock has lost 43 percent in value since he got Microsoft’s top job on Jan. 13, 2000. Periodically, pundits, investors and even former executives call for Mr. Ballmer to get the boot,” Wingfield writes. “During the 13 years Mr. Ballmer has led Microsoft, though, annual revenue at the company has grown 221 percent, to $73.72 billion, and profit has jumped 80 percent, to $16.98 billion. In comparison, during Mr. Cook’s 20 months as Apple’s chief executive, the company’s annual revenue has grown 45 percent, to $156.51 billion, while profits have jumped 61 percent, to $41.73 billion.”
Wingfield writes, “It’s too soon to tell whether Apple can shake off the disaffection of investors. The case of Mr. Ballmer and Microsoft, though, suggests that a company can be stuck in investor purgatory for a long time even if it keeps up profit and revenue growth.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Cook is growing what Steve Jobs built. Ballmer is coasting on what Gates’ stole from Apple way back when. One company clearly has a bright future, the other has missed every major tech market for the last decade. Zune, Kin, Windows Phone, Surface, Vista, 8ista… the list of Ballmer’s debacles goes on and on.
On his watch, Tim forgot to have Forstall label Apple Maps “beta” and the new iMacs were two months late. That’s about the litany of his mistakes. Obviously, there are big differences between Tim Cook and Ballmer T. Clown.
Absolute crap.
I agree with mac daily take
Other things were screwed up to. The lack of any good TV ads is killing the Apple image. Apple needs someone for PR. Tim Cook needs to focus. Sitting with the First Lady at the state of the union and pushing the Gay Rights stuff can be done out of the public view and pursued heavily after he retires from Apple.
“Screwed up” to you only. Your bias is showing. That’s how the press and anal-ists screw up. Not at all true- or objective.
MDN left off the Browett hire. Even so, Cook has been doing well in my opinion. If you expect perfection, then you are doomed to bitter disappointment. Jobs was not perfect, either. I think that the fact that Apple is currently fielding its strongest ever set of products (with the exception of the Mac Pro!!) speaks for itself.
Me too!
Actually, one other Tim Cook mistake: John Browett. But he fixed that one
Yes, indeed. However and most unfortunately, his stinch still lingers in the Apple stores. I am amazed every time I go to my local store how badly broken it remains. Advice overheard from the sales floor is so often wrong, wait times are increased, the customers frustration is so palpable that now it is an unpleasant experience just to be in the store to browse, but especially if you require assistance. I used to look forward to going there. Now I pass right by and thank God that I don’t have to go in there. The Ft. Lauderdale Galleria store is the one to which I’m referring. Even I couldn’t have screwed it up this badly!
Apple is leading the innovation. Microsoft is missing . Two aren’t the same .
I believe Tim Cook still has both his nuts intact. Can’t say the same for Steve Ballmer though – one nut missing and a screw loose.
Say that to his face!
“It’s too soon to tell whether Apple can shake off the disaffection of investors.” Tim Cook isn’t the one to blame. Just look toward Wall Street and the big investors.
Even Steve Jobs brought in the Papermaster guy from IBM and got rid of him quickly when he didn’t fit! Tim Cook and Apple will be just fine. You really have to wonder why the media pay any attention to Wall Street after the mess they made in 2007-08!!! They really have no clue…….
I suspect most of that gain in Microsoft since Ballmer took over was not in the last few years while most of the call for his head has been.
Both are CEO’s, after which all similarities end.
There should be a website dedicated to recording how wrong and bullshit these no clue analysts have been being. How they say one thing today and the other thing the next day… etc.
They should be tracked down.
I’ve been thinking along those lines, too, and checking on available domain names. It’d be best if this were a community hosted effort.
Come on now, Microsoft has innovated since Steve Ballmer took the reigns. Word got a ribbon interface!
LOL…i could not give a S**** about investor loosing a few million….since when is apple working and creating anything for investor? who is apple customers? we love apple for what it is not for a few sore losers and i would buy apple product even if steve balmer was in charge of apple…so cut that crap
Apple 4 ever lol…Apple soul is called STEVE JOBS no one else
What?
I actually don’t mind the comparison being drawn to Ballmer by this article, because if an absolute stooge like Ballmer can survive driving Microsoft down into the ground can remain CEO of Microsoft, Tim Cook should have no problem. But that’s as far a comparison as they should draw, and the only one that actually needs to be made.
Cook is way worse than Ballmer. At least Microsoft’s stock hasn’t tanked… albeit, it hasn’t grown much under Ballmer either.
At least Ballmer will try new things, even if they fail; whereas Cook is afraid to try anything new. Even sucking up air everyday like he’s going to die if he doesn’t is a risky move for the timid Cook.
Cook is that lazy hound dog lying on the porch. He’s too afraid to hunt but you still have to feed him. Someone could rob your house blind, but he’s too tired to bark.
As an Apple fan, Cook is a gigantic embarrassment. In order to have less of a persona than Tim Cook, you would have to be invisible!
If he wasn’t CEO of Apple and somebody showed me his picture, I would think he was that child molester who lived in a van down by the river.
He’s about as entertaining to watch as a super low budget movie on Netflix, shot by a college student with a Sony Handycam.
You are a blithering idiot. Tim Cook is the hardest-working person at Apple, and he’s the most talented CEO of any company in the world today.
-jcr
“Blithering”?
Why don’t you use a 21st century word… you British douchebag!
Yeah, you really are a douchebag, indubitably, old boy!
You’re a rude, ugly American, said the wise, good one.
Look at this folks, another paid for attack sponcered by The great Dictator copiers at Samsung.
Randy you’re an ass. Period. And you clearly don’t get much, if anything.
Investors, the king makers? I think not. They’re just upset they’re not getting richer, fast enough. They’re just trying to make up for their loses with the FaceBook IPO.
Apple stock is basically following most companies, with the exception that Apple almost died before Jobs came back: Apple introduced fantastically innovative products (hit after hit after hit) and the stock soared, the value skyrocketed, and earnings shot through the roof.
Then Apple leveled off. No new, game-changing innovative products for a couple of years (no, the iPad mini is not a game-changing product, not when the iPad already existed). Apple keeps selling its fantastic products at brisk levels, but the astronomical growth is not there.
What analysts fail to recognize is that Apple is still growing. It’s just not a guaranteed money-maker for hedge fund managers any longer. Apple is much more like a blue chip stock at this point, and while it could enter another growth phase with another game-changing product, that’s not likely.
So Wall Street hammers Apple right now because it’s mad that they can’t just throw money at Apple and turn automatic profits on the right hand, probably to offset their other losses incurred by the left hand.
MDN should do a new survey:
Who has been better for Apple:
• Tim Cook
• Steve Ballmer
That’s all the mistakes you could think up for Cook?
What about all the stale products that are 1+ years beyond normal product update cycle?
What about the awkward, expensive, poorly implemented Lightning replacement for the traditional dock connector — you know, the new connector that has practically no 3rd party support now?
What about all the software screw-ups?
Rotating executive doors?
Inability to make any headway into potential Mac enterprise markets or defend iOS market share?
How about the inconvenient fact that Apple doesn’t score a single green light on the MR Buyer’s guide??? http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
… and we just have another half hour until we watch Cook squirm to explain how he can miss profit estimates despite hitting revenue targets. There are only two typical reasons that record revenue wouldn’t also usher in record profits:
1) the company is investing hugely in capacity expansion or new product release; or
2) the company leadership has been so poor that it is wasting cash on frivolous or non-value-added activities, or implementing expensive fixes to problems that wise leadership would have avoided.
Since #1 doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon, # 2 seems more likely. iPhone delays. expensive frivolous ring-shaped office buildings. late release after late release. endless promises to someday update the Mac Pro, fix Maps, etc.
I am simply not impressed with Cook’s leadership, and nobody defending Cook has given a single explanation of why all these issues continue to go unresolved. “just wait” doesn’t cut it anymore.