Apple (NASD: AAPL), which has largely been given a rubber stamp of approval on everything it has done for the past decade, has been faltering in recent months. Consumers seem to be growing wary of minor modifications on existing products, and are thirsty for new products. Even though sales and profits remain high, without a game changing new product, there is a real risk in the firm’s stock price right now. Perhaps this is why famed investor Richard Einhorn and many others are calling for a dividend, in an effort to store some profits.
While the falling stock price has troubled investors, it seems it is similarly reaching the halls of Apple itself. On Wednesday, at the company’s annual meeting, chief executive Tim Cook gave the insider’s perspective on it. Cook said that while he understood why shareholders would be disappointed by the 36-percent drop since mid-September, a focus on the longer term may help ease concerns. “I don’t like it either,” Cook said about the share price drop. “The board doesn’t like it. The management team doesn’t like it. But we’re focused on the longer term.”
In an environment hyper focused on the here and now, ‘long term’ might not actually be very look for CEO Tim Cook. The onslaught of competitors to apple has the firm in a precarious situation, one that Cook and his management team must find a way out of quickly, or risk returning the company to the pre iPod days.
