Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Has Apple peaked?

If history has taught us anything, it certainly is that every great empire eventually falls. Apple, like google or Facebook, is no different. I find this article interesting in that it explores what may be the beginning of the end for Apple. It discusses how Apple lost its position as the world's premier company to Exxon over the previous year. Then it discusses sales data, and competitors Apple faces. 

I personally disagree with many things in the article and think it is a bit premature to declare Apple's demise. It's strength is to launch a ground-breaking product line every 4-5 years: the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad, etc. The individual updates within each line are also excellent, but it is natural that they don't appear as innovative as the initial launch product. Demanding that Cook produced anoither paradygm shift right away is unrealistic. Give him some time - we don't know what's in the oven.

That said, I'm old enough to remember a time when Sony seemed unbeatable. A some point, a meaner predator might emerge to abate Apple. Apple perhaps will become the Sony of the new generation. 

2 comments:

  1. I agree that it is too soon to tell if Apple has reached its peak. The whole economy has slowed its spending recently. Apple is still top of the line in all its products and the public should allow some time to see what types of innovations Apple will come up with next. It was said that Steve Jobs left behind years of plans, almost guaranteeing that Apple will not go down anytime soon.

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  2. It is important to highlight the power of the markets in this story; Apple lost its seat as the most valuable company to Exxon Mobile. The value of a company, also called its market capitalization is calculated by multiplying total shares outstanding and SHARE PRICE. Apple's stock price went down 17% a little over a week ago due to the lack of investor confidence in its creative abilities - the market spoke, I think now Apple will listen.

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