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The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for July 1, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Apple is Barron's "most respected" company once again
Apple has returned to the top of Barron's annual list of "The World's Most Respected Companies" after being knocked out of the number one position by Berkshire Hathaway in 2013. Barron's complies their list from an annual survey of the 100 largest companies in the United States. The team from Cupertino has topped Barron's list for four out of the five years it has been published, but dropped from first to third place in last year's list. This year Barron's had this to say about Apple: The iEverything maker has reclaimed the throne with a flourish in 2014, its winning score leaving No. 2 Berkshire and other a blur in the rearview mirror. In the past year Apple has made tremendous gains in its stock and shareholder dividends, and the consumer anticipation is high for the impending releases of the iPhone 6, updates for iOS and OS, and the rumored iWatch wearable device. Berkshire Hathaway came in second this year, with Boeing, Google, and Johnson & Johnson taking third, fourth, and fifth respectively.
Barron's topples Apple from World's Most Respected Company spot
Apple has spent the last three years at the top of Barron's annual ranking of the world's most respected companies, but has been toppled from its perch. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has stolen the crown, coming up from the 12th position last year. The Walt Disney Company is in second place; Apple is third; and rival Google is in fourth. The bump for Berkshire Hathaway is likely about stock price, which is up 25 percent. Apple hasn't had that kind of luck with its stock just above $400, down from a high of more than $700 last year. Apple isn't alone in getting the bad news. McDonald's fell to eighth from third, while IBM moved to 10th place from second. Barron's has been doing this list since 2005, surveying money managers in the world's largest 100 companies. This latest survey was conducted in late May and early June.
Apple named top stock for 2013 by Barron's
Despite falling off significantly from its highest point of the year at over $700 a share, Apple's stock is still a hot topic amongst investment gurus. Financial magazine Barron's not only retains faith in Cupertino's value, but feels so strongly about the company's ability to once again reach a lofty value that is has placed Apple at the top of its Favorite Stocks for 2013 list. Helping boost Apple's standing in Barron's eyes is its current price-to-earnings ratio, which the publication notes is at its lowest point in half a decade. "None of the recent investor concerns -- lower margins, supply constraints, management changes, iPad competition and the iPhone 5 map fiasco -- are major," Barron's explains. "There's room for a higher dividend and a more aggressive share-repurchase program in 2013. Both could play well with investors." [Via: BGR]
Barron's: Apple should be in the Dow
Apple has been traded on the NASDAQ exchange since it first went public back in 1980. For most of that time, AAPL has been part of the NASDAQ 100 index, so a gain or loss by the company has an impact on the technology-oriented exchange. A post on Barron's today posits that Apple, which is now the world's most valuable company, should be part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average instead. However, Barron's thinks that it would be hard to admit Apple or Google to the Dow Jones index considering that the component companies are weighted on the price of their shares. Apple, which has been valued at $580 - $645 over the past few months, would simply "overwhelm" the index with a 26 percent weighting, almost double that of Dow component company IBM. Barron's notes that Apple's 9 percent jump in share price after the recent earnings call would have raised the DJIA a full 300 points. Barron's suggests that a different weighting, in which the weighting of any stock is capped at an fixed percentage, might be needed for companies like Apple and Google to become part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Apple is #4 in Barron's 500 for 2011
Earlier we told you that Apple claimed the #35 spot on the 2011 Fortune 500 list. That's pretty impressive in and of itself, but what's even more impressive is that Apple sits at #4 on the Barron's 500 list of America's top companies that was released last week. The rise to the fourth spot means Apple shot up 55 places over last year's position. Unlike Fortune, which ranks companies solely by revenues, Barron's assembles its list based on factors such as revenues, cash returns, management strategies, and operating successes. Barron's Jacqueline Doherty writes of Apple's 4th placement: "Apple, ranked No. 4 this year...has generated stellar sales growth and handsome profits from the iPod, iPhone and related products, and its shares have rallied 321%, to 347, since the stock market bottomed in March 2009. Yet the stock, which trades for only 12.2 times next year's expected earnings, still isn't richly valued." The three companies that came in before Apple were Fidelity National Information Services, a payments processor, at #3; jelly maker J.M. Smucker at No. 2; and Oshkosh, a truck maker, at #1. [via Apple 2.0]
Barron's: Steve Jobs among world's best CEOs
Barron's compiled its annual list of the world's 30 best chief executives, and Apple's Steve Jobs tops the list, again. Jobs was selected for his vision and forethought that anticipates the products and services that customers want, even before they realize it. Jobs' insight has led to the development of the iPod touch, the iPhone and the iPad. These three products top their respective markets and have become must-have items for technophiles and the average consumer alike. Barron's also notes that Jobs took the PC company from an all-time low in the 90s and turned it into the second most valuable company in the US. Apple's current market value has climbed to US$315 billion, a figure that is only topped by ExxonMobil. Other CEOs on the top 30 list include Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway and Reed Hastings of Netflix. [Vai Macstories]
Apple is Barron's most respected company for second year running
In what should be no surprise to anyone who follows the tech sector, Apple has been named Barron's most respected company for the second year running. Barron's annual most respected list is compiled from a survey of money managers who can recommend any company in the world for the top honors. Not only did Apple make those money managers a huge amount of cash last year (the stock went up almost 60 percent in 2010), but Apple also took top honors because the company had the technical, creative and marketing skills to finally shape a viable consumer market, with iPad, for a technology that's existed in some form since before the turn of the century (tablets). Besides the iPad and the soaring stock price, in 2010 Apple introduced the iPhone 4, redesigned the iPod nano and MacBook Air, hit the 10 billionth iTunes song download early in the year and introduced a new Apple TV. And that was just the big stuff. Check out the cool video after the break that showcases some of the other reasons Apple was probably chosen as Barron's most respected company in 2010. Matter of fact, Apple had such a high-flying year, we could almost forgive Ping.
Activision-Blizzard and their financial future
Barron's has a long article up about Blizzard's corporate overlords at Activision-Blizzard, and as is usual with most pieces of Activision news, people will probably see in it what they want to see. Those who think Bobby Kotick is just a money-grubbing exploiter will find more fuel for their firey fanboy rage: apparently he's a follower of Las Vegas casino entrepreneur Steve Wynn, and is modeling some of Activision-Blizzard's business plan off of that guy, Shareholders, however, will probably be thrilled. In terms of a purely financial sense, Activision-Blizzard is apparently one of the shinest futures around, with Kotick bragging that videogames will eclipse film and TV in terms of moneymaking in just a few years.From our perspective, as longtime fans and players of Blizzard's games, the most interesting thing I see here is that Barron's makes no distinction at all between Activision and Blizzard any more -- the Activision-Blizzard company, according to the article, is equally responsible for both the Starcraft and Transformers franchises. Obviously, as gamers, we see a huge distinction between those two: one is a classic, storied, much-loved videogame series, and the other is a cash-in on a license that's panned everywhere but the box office. But for the financial guys, they're just both properties of Activision-Blizzard. That's not to say that our Blizzard is entirely lost (anyone who was at BlizzCon last week knows that's not true), but it is a sign that the merger is no longer news. From an outsider perspective, Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft are just two cash cows from the same company.
Barron's: Analyst handled Apple tablet, says competitors have paused production lines until launch
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/02/barrons-analyst-handled-apple-tablet-says-competitors-have-pa/'; tweetmeme_source = 'engadget'; According to a report in Barron's, a phantom "veteran analyst" has actually handled Apple's heavily rumored tablet-device-thing. If you believe what the report is laying down (and honestly, that's a big if -- analysts have a funny habit of making things up) the tablet is still on for a September unveiling, with a shelf life beginning somewhere in November. What's also interesting about the report is that the analyst claims the device will be marketed somewhere in the $699-$799 range -- as was previously rumored -- and will be aimed at uses as a media player (with some kind of potential Apple TV tie-in) and gaming device. The analyst, who obviously declined to be named, said that the tablet is simply awaiting Steve Jobs' final blessing, and claimed that other ODMs have paused new products until they see the finished version of what Apple has in store. That last bit is potentially the most interesting of all, as we've recently heard reports of device-makers freezing new production until 2010, which definitely raises the possibility that the industry is holding its breath to see what kind of new trick Apple has up its sleeve. Yeah -- things are about to get fun. [Warning: read link requires subscription] [Via 9to5mac]
Walmart will sell iPhones starting Dec. 28
Walmart will be taking a pass for most of the holiday shopping season with one particular item: the iPhone. It will begin selling the handset December 28, according to Jamie Townsend, of research firm JRPG. Boy Genius Report also notes that the phone will be sold in some Sam's Club stores as well. The blog broke the news about Walmart's talks with Apple, but originally said the smartphone would hit shelves last Saturday. Walmart seems to be capitalizing on post-holiday shopping fervor, with BGR's Zach Epstein speculating, "Won't people be happy when they find out Apple's handsets popped up at discount prices three short days after Christmas?" It depends on how meager Christmas is, I suppose. The handsets will apparently be activated in-store. No pricing details were released.
Steve is "World's Best CEO"
Aww, doesn't it make you feel all snugly inside?Barron's has published their list of the world's 30 top CEOs, (subscription required for the full article) and our buddy Steve Jobs is at the top of the list. In assembling their list the editors at Barron's considered things like stock market performance, investor surveys, and so on. Consistency in wardrobe was also a factor (that's a joke, in case you didn't notice).Other notables from the tech field included Satory Iwata of Nintendo and Jong-Yong Yun of Samsung Electronics. So, who wants to design Steve's "World's Best CEO" coffee mug?[Via MacDailyNews]
