When Steve Jobs died in 2011, many Apple (AAPL) loyalists had given up on the company. People had simply lost confidence in the company. There was a common feeling among investors that the tech giant wouldn’t be around for too long. Now, three and a half years down the line, I present to you a more than $ 170 billion company with brilliant revenues and an amazing enterprise value. This raises one question: Is Apple really missing Steve?
There was a point after Jobs’ death when analysts had predicted that the company may suffer a loss in revenues. This they felt would be because of the demise of creativity in the company. Steve Jobs was the soul behind Apple’s success since its inception. A patron of art himself, the man who liked being called an artist instead of an industrialist, was the brain behind some of the latest tech toys we have in our hands today.
Thus, it was but obvious that the investors and analysts started feeling uncertain about Apple post-Jobs. Now that the reigns of the company have fallen into the hands of Tim Cook, the company is seemingly performing pretty decently. In fact, Jobs was around till the launch of the fourth iPhone. Cook took forward the responsibility of coming out with the seventh generation of iPhone (though it is yet to be released).
Investors May Have Feared Decreased Returns
Investors, after Jobs’ death, may have feared that the ROIs might reduce as a result of a lot of factors. This might seem a really petty issue. This is because when we talk about Apple, we are talking about a company that has more cash than any company in the same line of business. Apple is a fast-growing company and ROI has never been an issue with the company. In fact, for that matter the company has always returned more than what is expected.
This has been achieved under the leadership of Tim Cook. I would not give all the kudos to Cook alone. A very balanced and long-term, result-oriented management team combined with a dynamic and innovative leader has taken the company to where it is right now. Technology companies that last long term are those that are willing to take risks, invest heavily in R&D and are eager to venture onto the unexplored territories.
Over this period of time we have seen that the company has increased its revenue base. The China Mobile deal has been instrumental in increasing the ROI (or has at least attracted investors). The long-term thinking Apple team has and will take the company to great heights. The company has been providing decent returns for a very long time. Even the deals and collaborations that the company have undertaken have reaped fruit. So, would one still suggest that Apple is (or rather was) a one-man show?
