Apple’s challenge
Long term Apple shareholders must feel like they are living through Groundhog Day. An annual iteration of the iPhone fails to live up to elevated expectations, and Mr Market quickly moves to discount the demise of the company. This is precisely what happened at the start of January when Apple issued its first revenue downgrade […]
What’s up with JOBS?
Last week, 51job (Nasdaq: JOBS), the Chinese online job ad platform, reported its third quarter 2018 earnings result. The result was very strong, and given that the stock has been beaten up by the market over the last few months, one would expect that the stock would rally as a result. However, somewhat surprisingly, 51job […]
What to make of Apple’s reporting change
Last week Apple reported its fourth quarter and full fiscal year results. While the quarter past was strong, Apple’s underwhelming guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 combined with its decision to cease reporting unit shipments for the iPhone, iPad and Mac in future drove a $70 billion wipeout of market capitalisation. If one […]
How Deep is Your Market?
The collective performance of the stocks of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (now Alphabet) has been sensational over the last few years. Combined with their sheer scale, the stocks of these companies have therefore accounted for the bulk of the US equity market’s gains in this time. So, it comes as no surprise that […]
Instagram Reaches Pivot Point as Facebook is Handed the Reins
Last week, Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger announced their plan to leave Instagram to “explore their curiosity and creativity again.” The social media company, acquired by Facebook in 2012 for $1 billion, is now worth $100 billion according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Jitendra Waral. Facebook’s market value today is $480 billion, emphasising how significant […]
Apple’s gamble on Chinese vanity
It’s that time of year again. Every September, Apple hosts its annual iPhone launch event at its Cupertino campus, unveiling the next iteration of the company’s bestselling product. This year marks a continuation of the three-phone line-up that began last year with the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and the X. Speculation abounds about whether the […]
Apple Part II: What would it take to reach $2 trillion?
In Part I of this two-part blog on Apple, we discussed some of the criticisms that Apple faced as an investment case on its journey to a $1 trillion market capitalisation. This Part II will take a look at some of the lenses through which we can view Apple as a business, to better understand Apple’s […]
When Bad Things Happen to Good Stocks: A Fundamental Investor’s Opportunity
As Benjamin Graham, widely known as “the father of value investing”, understood well, stock prices can bounce around for a range of different reasons, and any of them may have very little to do with the fundamental prospects, earnings and cash flows that the underlying business will ultimately generate for its owners (shareholders) over time. […]
Apple Part I: A $1 trillion company at 18x P/E
Last week I attended an Apple summit hosted by a prominent Apple analyst. One of the main lamentations shared by both the host and a majority of the audience (for this was not a gathering of investment analysts) was why Apple, the most valuable company and arguably the most recognisable brand in the world, was […]
Buy on the sound of canons
As the Buffett adage goes, “be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful”. At its core, the phrase highlights the necessity of contrarian thinking when investing. Achieving investment outperformance requires a non-consensus view, and for that view to be proven correct over time. While this sounds straightforward, it is often challenging […]
