John Konopka on Premarket: Apple is green - 'Curious. For small change in stock price the volume was very high, about 76M. Same for MSFT.'
on Tim Cook: Get ready to pay more for Apple devices - 'Most US consumers, for example, purchase iPhones on monthly payment plans either through a carrier with an associated discount on the cost of the phone in exchange for lucrative post-paid service contracts or like me, form Apple directly. As someone that has purchased a new iPhone every year since the debut of Apple upgrade program, I sign a two-year contract for a new iPhone each year. If I turn in the iPhone after the first year, the second year of the contract is cancelled and I begin a new two-year contract on a new iPhone. In other words, over 24 months months I pay for the equivalent of one new iPhone yet get a new iPhone every year. Let’s say for the sake of discussion Apple increases iPhone prices $240. I expect that to show up in the cost of my next iPhone as an additional $10 cost per month. My monthly cost now on an iPhone 17 Pro Max is about $61 per month inclusive of AppleCare+ coverage which is mandatory under the program. I’m more than happy to “absorb” the additional monthly cost on an iPhone that’s likely to boost my personal productivity through the use of Apple Intelligence and a new and improved major league-level level version of Siri updated for greater AI integration. I’m not worried about a loss of unit sales for Apple and I don’t expect most consumers to balk at an additional $10 per month (or less) in their monthly payment plan.'
on Tim Cook: Get ready to pay more for Apple devices - 'For Apple investors, perhaps. An affluent brand that already provides tremendous customer value can more easily pass along cost, whereas low value phones with cost conscious customers, not value, cannot.'
on Tim Cook: Get ready to pay more for Apple devices - 'So Dan, are you saying inflation is our friend?'
on Premarket: Apple is green - '@Darren: Corning’s web site states: “The first company to receive investment from Apple’s new ‘Advanced Manufacturing Fund’ as part of the company’s commitment to foster innovation among American Manufacturers”'
on Premarket: Apple is green - 'Michael, do you know if that is an equity investment or preferred supply agreement or perhaps a combo of both? Always nice for Apple to also share in the success of their suppliers that Apple is a big part of.'
on It's Juneteenth tomorrow. What has Apple done for African Americans lately? - 'So we should also ask, among the major US tech and chip companies, compared to Apple, what have THEY done and are currently and will do to address black Americans and the racial, economic, housing, educational, and hiring disparities that they (and other non-white minorities) systemically, culturally and politically face literally everyday for the past 5-7 decades? I mean in all their massive tech spending, what of that spending is going to help disadvantaged groups lives and environments to get better? Seems to me literally everyday data center design and proposal appears to overwhelm and disrupt local and state regions with little regard for people, only for themselves, the politicos that they pay off to promote and approve these projects, and residents and citizens will be left holding the poop bag in water scarcity, electrical grid stress and increased rates, plus noise, air, groundwater contamination and destruction of farmland, lives, and towns. Forgive me if I hold up Apple as a pretty good and thoughtful model citizen who actually follows through on helping people.'
on Horace Dediu: There's a limit to how much memory cost Apple can swallow - 'Horace says that all shortage is followed by a glut, and I think that glut will be a great thing. I recently saw an interview of Steve Wozniak. He said that, when they started Apple, the memory to hold a song cost about a million dollars. Apple has done a lot to make compute power and memory more available and affordable, but there is still a long way to go. In 1989, I created software using some of my ideas. I was working in assembly language on a Mac Plus. The software worked great, but was unbelievably slow. Now, I have a small software company, and am working on some of the same ideas. They are more doable now, but still have a long way to go. I look forward to big increases in availability of compute power and memory. I certainly will make great use of these. I expect that plenty of others will, too.'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'Couldn’t make it all the way through that video, Bart, but enough to know that’s powerful stuff. For years and years, the Apple Beachball has been dunked. But it never stopped doing the right thing, and slowly but surely, it has grown closer and closer to breaking free of the F.U.D., for once and for all. And whence the F.U.D.? Everyone that has a motive for trying to sink the Beachball, including not just inveterate Apple haters, but Apple competitors, whole nations, and even whole collections of nations (I’m looking at you, EU!). It’s not a coincidence that it’s the young who have begun to realize that the Emperor is as naked as a jaybird….'
on Horace Dediu: There's a limit to how much memory cost Apple can swallow - 'I think this issue will play out in a few ways. People who buy their phones etc over time subsidized by their carrier will see relatively smaller looking increases on a per month basis. 10 dollars more per month over a 3 year payback period would be 360 dollars. People who pay full price upfront will likely see all the manufacturers prices higher so Apple will likely not be singled out by the consumers who buy their products. I do see other devices payment plans being created and promoted compared to paying full price upfront on purchase options as well. Or people will shift to buy the less expensive good models instead of the better and best options if they are budget constricted. Apple will likely realize this and adapt as needed. What happens when supplies normalize will be interesting. Suppliers better realize they want long term revenue growth so how they treat their customers during this period will be remembered.'
on Horace Dediu: There's a limit to how much memory cost Apple can swallow - 'Using a similar metaphor, maybe an amputation in the White House?'
on Horace Dediu: There's a limit to how much memory cost Apple can swallow - ' It’s still a tenet of semiconductor business that all shortage is followed by a glut since supply reacts to demand with a delay Ah, the supply chain bullwhip effect IF the memory demand is truly a relatively short-term temporary high but the upstream suppliers reacts/rushes to meet it as a future normal. Let’s see who manages this classic inventory management problem best. You know the answer…'
on Horace Dediu: There's a limit to how much memory cost Apple can swallow - 'Once again, used iPhones impact the market, especially now, hurting mid-tier Androids. At the same time, trade-ins mitigate the cost to iPhone upgraders. Plus most of Apple’s demographic can tolerate price increases more easily. The price increases seem dramatic. The real impact may not be so severe. Since 1/6 of the IB upgrades on average each year, the price increase, averaged over 6 years, looks much smaller. Apple could preserve GM $’s even at lower GM %. At last earnings call, Apple said they dropped the drive to cash neutral. No doubt, this memory crunch factored into their decision.'
on Horace Dediu: There's a limit to how much memory cost Apple can swallow - 'This announcement by Tim Cook right now seems to take some pressure off of Ternus when he assumes the CEO role. I think he is trying to keep the slate as clean as possible when Ternus assumes the helm.'
on Wedbush sticks with its Buy rating and Street-high Apple $400 target - 'Apple controlling the supply chain: Apple has invested in GlobalWafers in Texas, which is building out its 2nd phase (part of that $600 billion in US investment). The first phase is working its way up to 600,000 a month. When the 2nd phase is complete next year, it will produce over 1 million wafers a month. It appears that Apple will have first call on these, supplying its needs not only from TSMC and Texas Instruments but likely the necessary wafers for much of its needs. Can’t make chips without the wafers.'
on Premarket: Apple is green - 'I do not see how “Republican Leadership” has -anything to do- with the massive demand from hyperscaler AI for memory and other kinds of storage. And that’s probably the only component of overall inflation (along with electricity costs) that I can’t blame on Trump administration policies.'
