With so much negativity being thrown Apple’s way lately by the geniuses of the financial industry, I thought this would be a good moment to pause and revisit what Apple (AAPL) is actually doing. You know, the nonconjectural, positive stuff?
Lest we forget—in no particular order:
1. IPhone Upgrade Program: Apple’s new iPhone upgrade program lets users trade in and upgrade their iPhone with each new model, essentially leasing a brand-new iPhone every year while avoiding getting locked into a carrier contract.
2. Apple TV: The new Apple TV is relaunched as a new platform for third-party app developers, potentially launching all kinds of new in-app purchases via the TV. A brand-new Apple TV streaming service bundle is anticipated in 2016.
3. Apple Watch: Apple Watch enters its first holiday shopping season at the top of shoppers’ wish lists. When the highly anticipated medical apps finally appear, it will be a game changer. Why? Because all human beings have medical issues.
4. IPad Pro: iPad Pro with its bigger “professional size” screen begins its rollout with the best digital pen ever made for a mobile device, or any device. Artists and anyone who loves to draw are rejoicing. This is a more important technology than any Wall Street number cruncher can possibly imagine. Because they have no imagination.
5. Apple & Enterprise: Apple & IBM continue to collaborate and roll out enterprise apps for Apple mobile devices—adding over $25 billion in revenue just the first year.
6. CarPlay: CarPlay continues to roll out into every new car model, becoming the default platform.
7. Apple Pay: With a proven track record, Apple Pay continues to roll out into the rest of the world. A new user-to-user payment feature is anticipated.
8. Apple Stores: Apple continues to open new stores in China, adding directly to Apple’s market share and bottom line. The Chinese love Apple products. For the foreseeable future, the Chinese market can only grow and get better, not worse.
9. Apple Stock Buyback Program: Apple’s multibillion-dollar stock buyback program continues to decrease the number of outstanding shares, raising Apple’s EPS every year.
10. Apple’s dividend: Apple continues to raise its dividend each year. So even if the stock price continues to go sideways, shareholders are growing money.
11. Macs: Mac Retina display laptops and 5K display desktops maintain their technological leadership as best in category, growing market share while competitors decrease sales.
12. Apple Music: Buying and replacing Beats streaming music with Apple curated streaming music, the company has disrupted the advertising business model.
13. Online Security & the Cloud: Apple’s commitment to personal privacy and data encryption makes it the leader in personal security. As auto-syncing via iCloud between all Apple devices continues to improve, it becomes indispensable.
14. Apple Car: Future car design will be influenced by the companies with the best technological resources. Apple is the world’s leading hardware/software company. An Apple car would be a computer on wheels, offering consumers something existing car companies do not know how to build.
15. Apple Headquarters: The new “flying saucer” campus is scheduled for completion in 2016. This will be more than just highly anticipated news and great PR, it will be a cultural shift for Apple as its brain power comes together under one giant roof.
For a long-term investor, AAPL has been a frustrating stock to own—particularly this year. It’s nice to know the company is doing well, regardless of what the naysayers are tossing.
David Thall is a member of Investor Village’s AAPL Sanity group, where he posts as “djt.”
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