How Tim Cook could win back Apple investors’ hearts and minds

“After Apple’s shares sank following a profit warning about worse-than-expected quarterly revenue last week, chief executive Tim Cook has been trying to put a positive spin to the company’s outlook,” SC Yeung writes for EJ Insight. “Cook told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday that despite iPhone’s lackluster holiday sales, the company generated US$100 billion revenue that was not tied to the smartphone in the last fiscal year.”
“Sluggish sales in the last quarter were mainly due to the cool market response to the iPhone XR, sending Apple’s market capitalization down from more than US$1 trillion to just around US$700 billion recently,” Yeung writes. “The dramatic plunge reflects investors’ pessimism about Apple’s near-term outlook, regardless of the management’s pledge to pursue a prudent approach to both product development and financial management.”
“Many observers have revived doubts about Cook’s leadership, noting that he has failed to deliver the same amount and level of innovation that underpinned the company’s surge when Jobs was at the helm. However, comparing Cook to Jobs is unfair, if not a pointless exercise,” Yeung writes. “Still, the bottom line is what counts. The latest financial figures released by Apple are already historical data. Investors want to know the company’s direction and its latest innovations. Cook and his team must deliver on those goals to regain investors’ trust.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: No pressure, Apple.
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