Apple Inc (AAPL)

Apple reported after the bell and overall it was a beat--he's happy. They beat earnings by 8 cents a share; revenues beat; and their revenue projections for the next quarter are surprisingly bullish. What impressed him most was how the non-iPhone revenues are growing, namely services. Services are annuity revenue, keep giving. 10 years ago, people wrote off Microsft, but they missed the story. MSFT transformed itself into a utility--you have to pay MSFT each year for the service. Same with Apple which is now making money in services. Also, their wearables division is exploding, says their CEO. He's happy with their report today. And their iPhones in 2020 will be 5G-equipped, which will encourage customers to upgrade. The only cloud on the horizon is Trump.

(A Top Pick Jun 05/18, Down 7%) Slowing iPhone sales and there are concerns over consumer privacy with their products, but way safer than Facebook. He likes their cash holding and the dividend they pay. The membership service business is growing as well. He would buy on weakness.

It is so ingrained in the consumer that is not going away. They have a massive amount of cash. The cash on their balance sheet is bigger than 25 countries’ GDP. Not expensive valuation if you take out the cash. You have to watch if they get too big and they can't grow. They are not there yet. Maybe in 10 years.

He regrets selling it 18 months ago. It's done amazingly well. He loves their hardware and they are switching to a services side, but he finds Apple products not easy to use. With the current pullback, yes, he might buy it. They're criticized for not makin acquisitions, but in fact they have been buying smaller companies. He doesn't understand why they never bought Netflix or Spotify--glaring errors--when they have so much cash. The Apple Watch is better than many think.