True, though they (and he) seem to have been prepping for this for a long time. At the very least, they have positioned themselves into a good timeframe: with iPhone 5, iPhone on Sprint, iOS5 and iPad 3 coming down the pipeline at the end of this year and into the next.
Last time Jobs left Apple, the company almost died. We will see what happens this time. As posted earlier, I don't think Jobs will be here too much longer, a couple year is my guess.
Yeah, pretty much when you find out about pancreatic cancer, its too late. There are basically two "silent" killers in life...Pancreatic cancer and high blood pressure. With pancreatic cancer, there is less than a 10% chance to survive 5 years. And with every additional year on top of that, chances of survival greatly diminish. A death sentence is, unfortunately, exactly what it is.
i haven't read through the thread but apple is great at what they do. yes, jobs is the quintessential ceo but at the same time its been an incredible run recently. as long as they continue to make computers that don't crash and continue to market their brand exceptionally well they will be solid. they are the mercedes of the industry, great product, great name
I'm not intending to be a smartass, but this is basically because Jobs is still slowly dying of pancreatic cancer... probably?
When you look at the early success with Jobs, then the failure without Jobs, and then the massive resurgence with Jobs, it is hard to think of it any other way. Steve Jobs has a golden touch. I think once he is gone, they will find it very difficult to hold market share against Google.
Yeah from what the reports have said he has been at his house for weeks now. He can't be in good shape.
This. That golden touch is not magic, it is just pure genius. I was reading an article yesterday about what a ride AAPL has been under Jobs. The author was asking why other companies didn't duplicate their strategy, when at the core it is so simple: cut out all the fat, focus on a few products, one at a time, and make them great. Really that was a silly question for a clueless reporter to ask. The reason why other companies do not follow that strategy is because by focusing all your energy and resources on a few products, you run the significant risk of running your entire business into the ground if those few products bomb. What if the products aren't great? What if your idea is dumb? It is a huge gamble that few companies are willing to take. The reason why AAPL can do it, is because Steve Jobs is a visionary, he rode the right horses and banked it all on them and it paid off huge. The reason why AAPL will never be the same is that same reason. No matter how long he's been planning his succession, he is not replacing himself with another Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs's massive success will be AAPL eventual downfall. All their eggs are in one basket. The Ipod is already dead. When the time comes for the Iphone and Ipad, AAPL will need a new egg to carry their entire company. With Jobs at the helm, that egg is coming from a golden goose. Without Jobs at the helm, one misstep, one rotten egg, and the whole basket comes crashing down.
They probably have great momentum going forward, the question is how long will it last. With awesome products in the pipeline the next couple of years, Apple can do very well without Jobs. Maybe Google starts fraying at the edges first with their own set of major problems/challenges.
looking at their sales mix from the last annual report i have to agree. their biggest seller is the iphone by revenue 25BB, 17BB for Macs and Desktops, 8BB for ipod. i was going to say stick to making computers that don't crash but i hadn't realized how their resurgence was driven by other products. wow, iphones just came out what 3 years ago and it is 40% of their revenue. that's unbelievable
Tons of highly successful companies have all their eggs in one basket. Google is all search. E&P companies are all exploration and production. Five Guys is only a burger chain. Not every company is GE. There will be plenty of demand for that one product.... Even if that one product is a different one product in 5 years. That said, Jobs recent run has been one for the record books. Of all time CEOs he's probably in the top 10.... Though there are so many, it's arguable. So replacing him will certainly be a challenge.
Steve said many times that the future is not in iMacs or MacBooks, rather tablets and phones... so yea, they're doing fine
I wouldn't say those companies have their eggs in one basket, there's a large number of products there. That's like saying Microsoft only does computer stuff.
That may not always be true though. Tablets will continue to improve, and they certainly could be the future.
