Is The Apple Rotting

There is a lot uncertainties abounding around investing in AAPL i.e. the Apple now led by Tim Cook. Apple shares have seen a steady decline in recent times. People in the industry are asking where will Apple be in five years from now. It has taken Apple five years and more to reach where it is now, more precisely it has accumulated more money than any consumer-based technology firm since the launch of the revolutionary iPhone in 2007.

Ever since the demise of iconic Steve Jobs who thought differently, products have been not so different that has come out of the Cupertino think tank. People might ask why to change an already winning formula, but the fact is others now are catching up. Remember Nokia? Nokia's story has to be a lesson that every technology firm has to heed. Nothing revolutionary has come from Apple in the recent time. All that we have seen are tinkered versions of the same gadget, which is now neither unique nor groundbreaking. The legal issues with Samsung might have given free publicity for Apple, but the competitor is also getting free publicity. Although, Apple has raked in more money from mobile sales in 2012, the share prices of AAPL are dwindling, and so is the investor confidence. The AAPL shares have been in the red for some time, dropping about 38%, but rumours about stock split has taken it to an all time high as of now.

Yes, Apple is sitting on hoards of cash, more than some countries have in their economic system, but all that can evaporate if Apple does not consistently produce something unique and spectacular. It is a daunting task to conceive something big and radical consistently, but that is what Apple had been doing when Jobs was around. With Steve Jobs gone, it seems like the thinking heads are just thinking and nothing seems to materialize. So far Tim Cook has not been very inspiring and has not done anything to justify his position in the void Steve has left. Tim Cook has been busy cooking meanwhile competitors have been churning out devices after devices with one goal in mind, to tame the Apple and capture the market share. Apple products have always been associated with exclusivity and it is for this exclusivity that people pay the premium price. Apple products are a dream affair, to own and to use. Apple products are premium products and that is why they are sought after, but the recent downgraded MacBooks aimed at the lower economic segment shows Apple has pressed the panic button.

Five years from now, there are two possible scenarios, Apple products might be on your face making it as common as stars in the sky or it will be obsolete, only time will reveal what it is to be. The other players are hot on Apple's heels to simply imitate or even make better gadgets, so the future is not a bed of roses, but of uncertainties. Every day there are new players entering the consumer electronics industry, each one conceiving some radical design or innovative technology. So it remains to be seen if Apple will be relevant in five years from now, but right now Apple stocks are sailing in choppy waters. The next products launched by Apple will decide the course of journey into the future for Apple and its investors.

The web is rife with rumours of a revolutionary iWatch (christened by the media), but how will the market receive such a product has to be seen, this might turn the tide in favour of Apple. Also, keep an eye on how the stock split pans out for Apple and its investors. Perhaps, this is only another beginning. 

Resources:

http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=AAPL

http://www.firstcharting.com

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1213481-will-apple-exist-3-years-from-now-how-much-will-it-be-worth