Roger Fingas
Apple's original retail head Ron Johnson urged investors to buy the company's stock on Wednesday, calling it a good long-term bet, and arguing that iPhone sales will revive during the next cycle.
"I can't imagine a better buy for your portfolio for the next decade," Johnson told CNBC. Now the CEO of tech vendor Enjoy, he said that he still owns Apple stock and is going "long" on the company.
The executive's remarks come amid deep investor concerns, given Apple's Jan. 2 announcement that December-quarter revenues would fall $5 billion short of guidance. CEO Tim Cook blamed the issue mostly on weak Chinese iPhone sales, but also on factors like "foreign exchange headwinds," "economic weakness in some emerging markets," and 2018 battery discounts meant to apologize for throttling iPhone performance without consent.
Earlier this month Cook revealed that about 11 million batteries were swapped during the repair program — as much as 11 times what the company had planned for. Critics have pointed to his comments as evidence Apple depends on degrading batteries to keep up sales.
Johnson suggested that people who bought replacement batteries will be back once this year's new iPhones are released.
"Those 10 million didn't upgrade their phone," he said. "Next year, they'll be ready, right? Apple's a great buy."
Mike Wuerthele and Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Stephen Silver
Charles Martin
25 Comments
That last bit is a compelling argument. I deferred last year because of the battery replacement program. Very likely I’ll be upgrading this fall.
He’s totally right about that.
AAPL is a no-brainer for the long haul.
Sounds like someone that "might" own a lot of Apple stock. lol
“I’m sorry, Ron but we’re still not going to hire you back.” —Tim
Whether customers buy a new / replacement iphone is erroneous. The question is what will — not just tease, tempt, make, whatever— but actually permanently remove an Apple customer from Apple’s ecosystem for the rest of their life. That’s the only thing that Apple needs to worry about. Do they make compelling products that welcome you into the fold, offer services, accessories, and subsequent replacements sticky enough that you dont want to throw their ass in an oven and cook em. (Loose reference to Hansel and Gretel)?
Apple’s got profits leaking out of them that go into new projects, investors, debtors, and lobbyists and yet they still build a warchest. It would take a massive collection of screwups to force Apple off-course.