“Apple’s (AAPL) is not perfect, and there are areas for reasonable criticism. Yet, it seems that there have always been detractors who will go to any length possible to try to bring the iCompany down. They have never released a new product, from the iMac to the iPod, iPhone and iPad, that was not greeted with ridicule and scorn. Detractors continue, between product launches, to try to paint pictures of gloom,” J. M. Manness writes for Seeking Alpha. “The latest report out of Global Equities Research [Trip Chowdhry], however, has to be one of the most absurd pieces of work on the topic that I have ever seen. It is a virulent attack on CEO Tim Cook, calling for his replacement.”
“It is true that the current share price is down roughly 23% from its high of $702 in September, 2012. Apple has gone through many retractions over the years, but this is both one of the largest drops (aside from the 2008 recession) and the longest recent one – about a year and a half, so far,” Manness writes. “But the arguments of the report referenced here are so out of line with reality that it must be called absurd. The authors compare Apple to Enron [!]”
“When Enron lost $63 B, they lost virtually all of their value. Apple is down 23% from its all-time high. The comparison makes no sense at all. Enron went bankrupt because of corrupt practices by the managers. No one is suggesting this of Apple,” Manness writes. “It is true that the market cap is down about 23%, or $130 B from its high in Sept. 2012, but not true, as [Global Equities Research] state[s], ‘in the last 12 months.’ In fact, in the last twelve months, Apple is actually up 23%, still behind the NASDAQ, but beating the SPY… My question is, why do the authors choose the highest stock price ever as the starting point? Did Cook and Oppenheimer inherit this stock price when Cook took on the role of CEO? No, actually the price then was about $375, so Apple is up 40% since then, and Tim Cook has actually added roughly $140 Billion to shareholder value since taking over.”
Tons more in the full article about iOS, OS X, developers, and more – highly recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s a good thing Tim Cook is very well compensated because his is a thankless job, having to follow the virtuoso performance of Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and savior. For many people, Tim Cook will never be good enough.
Pay no heed to the Tripping Chowderheads of the world.
Cook deserves to high praise for having the courage to even accept the job, much less execute it so well. Yes, there have been mistakes. Yes, there will be more. (Humans, alas, are not perfect.) Yes, we’ve criticized Tim Cook and Apple when warranted – just as we did when Steve Jobs was CEO. However, we’ll repeat what we’ve been saying now for years: Those who underestimate Tim Cook do so at their own peril.
Soon, many more people will realize with great clarity that Tim Cook is a worthy successor to Steve Jobs.
Related article:
Apple can’t replace Steve Jobs, but it must try or something – March 12, 2014