No. of Recommendations: 8
I still like Apple. My largest holding, by far, in my equities slice of the portfolio - it outran Berkshire (#2) probably a decade ago. I think it is 16% of my overall holdings - that wasn't so much a decision as what buying when Steve Jobs was still alive did, over time, with the compounding we've seen in the post-iPhone era. Majority is still indices, and the fixed income is a pretty fat ladder of T-bills and annuities, just to sort of complete the picture.
The ecosystem is astoundingly sticky, as noted by WEB and others.
They manage to simply maintain a strategic focus on excellence in execution, integration, and do so with strong margins. They give a fig about being first in, but rather want to be best in class.
I first used their products in 1982 (I still have a printout). I've used Windows at various times, mostly in the '90s and '00s, but about 20 years ago got my first modern OSX Mac mini and it would take an extraordinary change (negative at Apple, gangbusters amazing at Microsoft) to flip me back. I lost count of how many Apple devices are in my house - they're used by everyone, for 100% of their work, professional and personal.
I gave Android a solid shake. Perfectly fine and functional tablet, used it for months. But simply not as good. I'm not a rabid fanboy; I'm an empirical engineer who overanalyzes/measures things to a fault. I put down the Samsung tablet and it is in a drawer, collecting dust now, and I'm glad to be back to the iPad.
If I go to the mall, the foot traffic in the Apple Store is greater, numerically, by an order of magnitude than any other similar sized store. I dare say they have a greater head count than Macy's at times.
Their 10ks and 10qs show no signs of distress or concerns. Their leadership is top flight.
