Apple is the world's most profitable business - twice the profits of #2 (JP Morgan Chase) and almost a 4x magnitude over Google.(1)
I agree with the author's final assessment - "meets expectations with some areas that need improvement" - and I think this is the key.
They are stoking the fire, keeping it burning, but clearly their focus seems to be diminished on their core business.
And even companies of this scale need hyper focus to drive what seem like small but obvious improvements, usually executives are faced with two choices:
(a) Focus on today's business and unlock maximum value in your product line / distribution.
(b) Innovate to turn a corner and plan for tomorrow.
I am surprised at how few people attribute the current challenges at Apple to what I suspect is an internal focus on planning for tomorrow.
How much more profitable is the iPhone going to get? The smartphone market is approaching saturation (2)
So what does the leadership do?
Are laptops, imacs, and apple pro's the future?
No, they barely represent 9% of Apples sales and have been FLAT for years (3)
What about Apple TV & Apple Watch (the "other" category) - those have already grown to 6% of sales - and moving in the right direction.
But is that it?
My suspicion is that Apple / Tim Cook knows something BIG that we don't that they are going to get PERFECT while they still have the cash fire hose of the iPhone to drive the engine.
(1) http://fortune.com/2016/06/08/fortune-500-most-profitable-co...
(2) https://www.cnet.com/news/smartphone-markets-glory-days-are-...
(3) http://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/26/q1-2016-results/
I agree with the author's final assessment - "meets expectations with some areas that need improvement" - and I think this is the key.
They are stoking the fire, keeping it burning, but clearly their focus seems to be diminished on their core business.
And even companies of this scale need hyper focus to drive what seem like small but obvious improvements, usually executives are faced with two choices:
(a) Focus on today's business and unlock maximum value in your product line / distribution.
(b) Innovate to turn a corner and plan for tomorrow.
I am surprised at how few people attribute the current challenges at Apple to what I suspect is an internal focus on planning for tomorrow.
How much more profitable is the iPhone going to get? The smartphone market is approaching saturation (2)
So what does the leadership do?
Are laptops, imacs, and apple pro's the future?
No, they barely represent 9% of Apples sales and have been FLAT for years (3)
What about Apple TV & Apple Watch (the "other" category) - those have already grown to 6% of sales - and moving in the right direction.
But is that it?
My suspicion is that Apple / Tim Cook knows something BIG that we don't that they are going to get PERFECT while they still have the cash fire hose of the iPhone to drive the engine.
(1) http://fortune.com/2016/06/08/fortune-500-most-profitable-co...
(2) https://www.cnet.com/news/smartphone-markets-glory-days-are-...
(3) http://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/26/q1-2016-results/