“There is far more involved in the market determining a company’s value, such as a solid history of profitability and success when expanding to new markets.”
Oh I agree there is more than quarterly profit margins involved. That’s my point.
This whole article is FUD because Apple isn’t close to being the most valuable company in the world. Apple has been successful in the past few years with a small number of popular ideas. They’ve yet to show they can convert that into long term growth or market presence. The Gartner report previously mentioned shows the industry doubts they’ll keep their existing share in their flagship market (cell phones).
Few years? Apple's growth strapped on a jet pack about twelve years ago. A formerly failing one-horse company now owns the portable media player market, is among the top 10 PC OEMs, is the biggest music retailer in the country (surpassing Wal-Mart in 2008), has a strong presence in the smartphone market it reinvented, and single-handedly created the consumer tablet market. This article is a bit dreamy, but it is within the realm of possibility.
The Gartner report previously mentioned shows the industry doubts they’ll keep their existing share in their flagship market
Ignoring 1) that Apple won't be carrier-exclusive forever and 2) that Apple keeps coming up with game-changing surprises that reap massive profits.
I remember when iPhone rumors stirred for about the year before its release. Everybody, the normal Apple watchers, the industry, the pundits, the rumor sites, EVERYBODY got it completely wrong. Mock-ups abounded and they were all completely off-base. Nobody had any idea what Apple was about to release or how popular it would be. I remember Ballmer saying it would be a failure, and now Microsoft is scrambling like mad to remain relevant in the market it's lost to Apple because of that "failure."