Robert Paul Leitao on Premarket: Apple is red - 'After concerns of a September Fed rate hike hit a “Waller” yesterday on comments of Federal Reserver Governor Christopher Waller suggested the Fed should keeps rates unchanged at this time, concerns of a rate hike returned following the release this morning of the Labor Department’s August jobs report indicating the US added 162,000 jobs during the month. Three of the four major stock indexes are down on the news. Only the Russell 2000 small cap index is in the green today. As posted on Apple 3.0, a report out of Nikkei Asia is suggesting a a very slow ramp of the new foldable iPhone due to “stringent quality-control requirements.” The shares are down $7.38 or 2.25% in early afternoon trading.'
on Nikkei Asia: Apple foldable iPhone hits snags - 'Agreed. If true they wouldn’t be announcing the product yet.'
on Nikkei Asia: Apple foldable iPhone hits snags - 'It is! Apple has taken like 5 years to get the foldable right and the last thing they’d do is—like Nikkei suggests—have such an extremely lacking production line. Think about it, Nikkei says Apple’s production has “ramped up” and is now producing a few hundred a day. Let’s say 500 daily. That makes it only 15,000 a month. Seriously?! If anybody remembers, this was EXACTLY the same BS that was being spread just before the launch of iPhone X. IIRC, even Ming-Chi Kuo (the so-called ‘reputed’ analyst) was in on that rumor.'
on Nikkei Asia: Apple foldable iPhone hits snags - 'The employee fed that info just got escorted out the door at Foxcon is my guess…'
on 'Steve Jobs' author Walter Isaacson on Apple's new CEO (video) - '“My take: Awkward interview. Convoluted question, scatterbrained answer.” It almost seemed like the framing and response to a question in a political debate. Poor interview(er): The interviewee is the point of interest of the interview, not the interviewer, so let the interviewer speak. She started with Ternus as subject, but interjected with garbage before letting Isaacson answer. I don’t want to go back to count it, but I’ll bet she spent more time talking than he did. He’s a kind of significant guy. He deserves a fair bit more time and far less (inter/dis)ruption. At least the comment stream was good, so the time is not totally lost.'
on Heavy buying in August - '” Answer: Local AI.” Great question and better answer. When one (Nvidia) of the two largest computer companies positions itself to directly compete with the strategy of the other top two firm- Apple, while sitting on a two year backlog for its product, it’s because it fears the inroads the other’s competing strategy will make in the future, IOW, Nvidia fears Apple’s strategy could seriously damage Nvidia’s future. The problem with Nvidia’s counter moves is that it does nothing to counter the cost of tokens and there isn’t a mobile Wintel platform capable of handling its just announced silicon. Good catch Joseph.'
on Heavy buying in August - '@Joseph: Between the Buybacks and not spending tens of Billions on AI like everyone else, once again Apple stays ahead of the curve by doing it their way.'
on Heavy buying in August - 'Apple has bought back about a split-adjusted 11.8 B shares since 2013 at a cost of about $853 B, and thus an average price of about $72/share. That’s about 45% of the float back then. If/when Apple gets to 50% bought back, any shares held since then will own twice as much Apple as they did then – and it’s a much bigger company….'
on Barron's: Apple is at an inflection point - 'Lots of basic calculus on PED nowadays. An inflection point is where a curve changes from downward curvature to upward curvature, or the reverse, i.e. a point at which the second derivative is zero. The figure PED posted shows an inflection point of the latter kind, but Woodruff presumably means one of the former: the rate of growth (first derivative) previously was slowing down, but going forward will be speeding up.'
on From the director of CODA: 'Being Heumann' (trailer) - 'As some of you know, we have a 35 year old handicapped from birth daughter that we have cared for her entire life. Because of cerebral palsy, short gut syndrome, and now renal failure, she has a very complicated medical profile. From a mobility and accessibility standpoint, she can use a power wheelchair, operate a laptop and mouse, iPads, Apple Watch, send iMessages, and participate in day programs. We have used Toyota Sienna ICE and now Hybrid handicapped converted minivans for transportation and have permanent ramps to enter our home. We’ve been acutely aware of accessibility for all people, and like Gregg, my knee is also calling for its replacement sometime soon. Our AAPL investments have given us resources to address mobility, accessibility and medical equipment to take good care of our daughter, something that can be very difficult for families to deal with otherwise. I’m glad that Apple includes and supports accessibility, mobility, and awareness of those who need these critical accommodations. Much sooner than later, our aging population will lean in and need that same support as we age. The same applies to younger aged children and adults who unfortunately acquire or suffer a debilitating injury which changes their and their families’ worlds.'
on Heavy buying in August - '“top money managers scooped up a whopping $13.97 billion worth of Apple stock” As opposed to Apple which plans to purchase something like $100B of its own stock each year. (not that $14B is chump change 🙂 )'
on From the director of CODA: 'Being Heumann' (trailer) - 'She was a remarkable woman. She features prominently in the fantastic documentary Crip Camp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFS8SpwioZ4'
on Apple renames Lake Ontario - 'My take: “Shame on Tim Cook, who almost certainly made the decision. And on John Ternus for letting him do it.” **Philip, it’s unfortunate, but I don’t believe Tim Cook or John Ternus had any choice in the matter. As the Apple C.E.O., and the incoming Apple C.E.O., each had to do what will contribute to the best results for Apple and its shareholders, *regardless* of their personal feelings and values. IMO, the folks who deserve the blame for putting Tim Cook and John Ternus in the position of having to rename Lake Ontario in Apple Maps are those who voted for the person making this and other ridiculous changes. One of the former subscribers to Apple 3.0, and one of the many of those voters, made this comment on 02/26/25: “However, let me be clear-I will never apologize for voting for Donald J. Trump, whom I firmly believe will be remembered as one of our nation’s most outstanding leaders.” He clearly will be remembered…but, IMO, not as “one of our nation’s most outstanding leaders.” I believe Tim Cook/John Ternus *had* to consider Apple and its shareholders when making the decision. If they had refused to change Apple Maps, we would have seen a harsh response and the AAPL share price would drop considerably…and, I trust that all of us on Apple 3.0 would prefer the AAPL share price not drop until the next split. 🙂'
on 'Steve Jobs' author Walter Isaacson on Apple's new CEO (video) - 'My answer to the question what should Apple do next: 1) First, everyone ELSE who is not at Apple should understand the context: The only company to return 20% per year on average for more than 3 or so decades is Berkshire Hathaway (55 years between 1965 and 2020) and that;’s just because it is an older company. Apple is in a class by itself. 2) Therefore, the most important recommendation is: don’t mess with success. 3) As is true of many great companies, people working at Apple are tons smarter about Apple than anyone else not working there. Pundits, industry people, and everyone else are at a structural disadvantage when giving them advice: we might have a fresh view, but given so many people offer advice, they’ve likely heard it. 4) So I think giving Apple advice is stupid. Even for people like Isaacson who spent so much time with Jobs. 5) That’s not the same as telling Apple, hey, I want improvements A, B, or C, or as a user I need ___________. That is vital; some time ago I wrote a column about this and some readers chimed in with great ideas. But requests about the user experience are different from business advice about how to improve Apple; I just don’t think we’re in a position to make that call.'
on Heavy buying in August - 'It would be nice to see a comparison to the previous month and year over year. In June 1.42 billion shares were purchased on public markets. In July 1.23 billion shares. In August .904 billion. I have no opinion as to what this all means.'
