Apple Inc (AAPL)

This has been a teeter totter ride. They have lots of cash on hand. He is expecting them to announce a dividend increase, and potentially a one-time special dividend. The service’s side of the iTunes-I store business is generating enough revenue to becoming a Fortune 500 company all on its own. Don’t expect this to grow as much is it has in the past. Looking at its valuation, the dividend it pays, the cash it has, it is very difficult to find companies of that quality with that kind of cash and balance sheet, and trading at that multiple.

(Market Call Minute.) Service revenue is growing at 27%. It is not about the iPhone 10, which is coming out next year, but that is going to be a big deal.

Got stopped at around $116. They are going to benefit from Samsung’s problems, which has provided a lift on the stock recently. He is nervous about how you move the needle for a $500 billion+ company. That kind of market cap really requires them to keep innovating on and on. He would prefer to wait on the sidelines to see what else they can come out with.

The biggest company in terms of market cap. You get a 1.9% yield. The real questions being asked is “what have you done for me lately” and “what are you going to do for me now”. This has been a wonderful, wonderful start. This is probably not going to do any more than go in line with the market going forward.

The services revenue should command more credit. They have the resources to be able to expand into other areas and they are smart to go into other areas. The bar was quite low with the iPhone 7. They have two Trillion dollars to repatriate from off shore. This will be good for Apple. There are a whole host of opportunities for them in the future.

On an emotional level, this company is absolutely amazing. It has also shown itself to have great quality control. However, it is ultimately a hardware company, and hardware companies eventually see their multiples shrink and contract. Right now operating margins are amazing in the +20% range. There are probably other companies out there you should own. You are looking in the rear-view mirror buying this at $118.

In the last couple of days this has just broken to a new recent high. Technicals are positive and the stock is outperforming the market. It has positive momentum and relative strength is positive. Seasonally, this does very well from the middle of October right through until the 1^st week in January.

Has been bullish on this for a long time. When it got down under $100, he was saying it was worth $140. It has come halfway back from under $100 to about $117, so there is still upside. This has had 130 billion downloads from the App Store, that is 20 for every human adult that is on earth.

(Top Pick Oct 9/15, Up 7.05%) Once you are on the IOS operating system you are hooked on it. You have close to a billion users that are hooked and now Apple are milking them for revenue. The iPhone 7 is doing fairly well. He thinks it is cheap and undervalued. What is there not to like?

There is some pretty immediate technical resistance at about $120. If it can get through there, it can maybe move back up again to its usual high at about 5.5X BV, $147. Right now it is halfway between its normal high of $147 and normal low of $92. Technically if it can break out here, you have another move ahead.

Got Stopped out last spring. He is finding their equipment is getting a bit confusing. They are just minor user things, but they will work it out. He likes their latest IOS update a little bit better than the old one.

Just launched the iPhone 7, which has done a lot better than people expected. They are augmenting that with a growing services business. The real iteration is going to be the iPhone 8, where they are going to enhance battery power and will be a much better product. Trading at a reasonable valuation of 12.5X. They are flush with cash and are going to do something with that cash.

He is in the camp that at best, it’s OK. A fair value and a hold right now. The iPhone 7 sales will be okay, but it is falling. It will show some economic sensitivity. They got a big boost from Samsung’s phone blowing up, but that is short lived.

She is a fan of it and you could be buying it here. It has a lot of upside to go. It is a product company, not a product cycle. They can move forward without Steve Jobs. It is a good buying opportunity. She is watching the rumour mills of what they are doing in the auto industry. She thinks there is certainly a lot of innovation to come out of Apple.

He is almost out, having been in and out three times. Their days of growth are almost done. This is the year when iPhone sales were lower than the previous year. It should not be viewed as a growth stock, but as a return of capital stock.