“Apple Inc just bought itself some much-needed time,” Edwin Chan reports for Reuters. “On Wednesday, the company surprised Wall Street with news that it sold more iPhones in the March quarter than even the most bullish analysts had expected. It threw another $30 billion into an already sizeable stock buyback program and instituted an 8 percent quarterly dividend increase to boot. And profits rose by an unexpected 7 percent.”
“To top it all off, Apple unveiled a 7-for-1 stock split that should go down well with individuals who want a piece of a household name but could not afford to fork over $500 a share,” Chan reports. “The litany of positive numbers sent Apple’s long-stagnant shares up 8 percent. But it masked a more fundamental concern that has kept the company’s once-unstoppable share price in check for over a year: when will, or can, Tim Cook pull another gadget out of Apple’s hat?”
MacDailyNews Take:
• iPhone was released 5 years, 7 months, and 19 days after iPod.
• iPad was released 2 years, 9 months, and 5 days after iPhone.
• Tim Cook has been Apple CEO for 2 years, 8 months, and 1 day.
“Whether Apple can again devise a revolutionary new product remains the central question in the minds of investors and Silicon Valley executives. Many hope the next iPhone, which sources have said will sport a larger screen with new display technology, will provide a timely lift to the company’s bottom line in September,” Chan reports. “In the longer term, the company still needs a game-changer, not so much to end up being Apple’s next ‘iPhone,’ but because a truly successful new product will shore up Cook’s stewardship. That would boost Wall Street’s confidence in the post-Steve Jobs leadership while restoring Apple’s reputation as a leading light of Silicon Valley innovation.”
Read more in the full article here.
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