“Apple has a plan to remake itself. Its new business model is all about leveraging its hardware ecosystem to sell software services,” Jon Markman writes for Money and Markets. “Unfortunately, hardware isn’t what it used to be.”
“The subscription business is booming,” Markman writes. “Apple Music, App Store, Apple Pay and all of the other bits and pieces Cupertino throws under the Services heading are now almost a $6 billion-per-quarter business. Tim Cook promises that by 2017 Apple Services will be a business big enough to make the Fortune 100 all by itself.”
“Tim Cook is prone to hyperbole,” Markman writes. “Cheerleading seems to be part of the job description for modern corporate leaders. He has continually talked about the rate of Android switchers to iOS despite all of the evidence to the contrary. He also recently opined about the growth rate for Apple Watch being on par with the early days of iPhone. Although he’s understandably optimistic about Apple’s future, building a business model based on declining sales growth has never been a great idea.”
“While it’s tough to bet against the world’s largest company and its pile of cash ahead of a product cycle, reducing exposure into strength is the best course of action right now,” Markman writes. “Just as investors became too pessimistic about earnings this quarter, they’re likely too optimistic about the prospects for the next iPhone.”
Read more in the full article here.
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