Jim Lebenthal

Compared to tech peers, Apple has been stuck for so long. It's depending on this super upgrade cycle which isn't happening, but it eventually happen but not in the next few months. Trades at 26x forward PE. Step in when it shows an uptrend.

This is almost a pure-play tech stock and not expensive at 34x forward PE. They are investing heavily in R&D and developing new businesses. Lessening tariffs in China is another plus. This is cheap now.

He bought more. They beat top and bottom lines, and raised guidance. He's a value investor. Sure, the share price has been terrible, but their earnings estimates are starting to rise and they're buying back share to reduce the share count 5% in the past year. They are meeting the competitive threat through their beats and guidance. They outperform consistently. Eventually, the share price will rise.

He sold high. Trades at a nice PE and will likely go higher. He's not saying it's a bad stock, not at all. He sold this to buy more Adobe.

Is like Oracle 3 years ago when it was still a database company, building the cloud infrastructure. This is already happening to Cisco. Trades at 16x forward PE, and pays a 3% dividend. Buys back a lot of shares. Is enjoying AI and cybersecurity tailwinds.

His top performer this year. He started buying this 18 months ago strategically. They supply rare earths which are in great demand by industries like cars.

Is up 7% YTD and 20% the past year. The stock is breaking out. It set a 52-week high last week.

This is thuggish behaviour with Trump telling Apple, "Pay up." And now the negotiation comes. Tim Cook will have to pay it, whether through lower gross margins for example. Remember that Trump needs to pay for the tax cuts he just passed. The world knows now that the U.S. won't cut spending, and Trump needs to find money--squeezing everybody he can squeeze. Expectations needs to decline for Apple. In recent years, Apple's growth has slowed and their AI hasn't come out as hoped (and they may not get AI right), but as the US market goes, so will Apple. That said, the difference is Apple's services which boasts wide margins, and Apple has a history of catching up the latest innovations. When money flows into markets, it flows into Apple.

He bought more. Has great faith in management who will turn things around, though it will take time. Steel prices have risen, but CLF has to wait for their existing contracts to end before they can raise their prices. Also, given tariffs, demand from the car industry here should increase with higher volumes.

He just heard the news, so he is avoiding a knee-jerk reaction either way. He is holding on for now. His position is not set in stone. This isn't the first threat to Google.

Theme parks are hanging in despite a tough consumer and DIS doesn't expect weakness in consumers. Streaming is replacing cable. Likes the Abu Dhabi news.

Their international expansion makes them a growth stock.

Over 5 years, their annualized return is 15%, inline with the market, but it suffers these crazy ups and downs on a quarterly basis. Operations are still doing fine, including traffic, while fuel prices are declining.