Apple's stock price hits a new high: Should we cheer?

Recently, Apple's stock price hit a record high, surpassing the highest record in 2012. Apple has become the world's most valuable company, with a market value of $601.96 billion, 30% higher than ExxonMobil, the world's second largest company. Most people in the industry have given high praise to this. However, some people in the industry disagree with this and even think that we should not cheer for the rebound of Apple's stock price. After reading the reasons they explained, I really don't agree with them.

This view first believes that a company is like a person, and will eventually age. No company can maintain its longevity, and this is especially true for technology companies. If we understand correctly or understand it in a more popular way, companies are like people and will eventually die. In this case, what is the meaning and meaning of today's efforts and glory? Then we need to ask, since life is destined to die (for people), why bother to live again? For companies, glory is destined to decline, so why should they be glorious? If we all hold this mentality, human beings may not be here today, and world-class companies such as Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and Intel will not be born in the industry. We will not enjoy the improvement of efficiency and fun brought by PCs, tablets, smartphones, social networks, search, e-commerce, etc. in our lives and work, and thus promote the progress of the entire society.

What we want to say here is that it is these companies that hold the ideal of long-term success and continue to innovate and compete in their own industry or in new industries to develop. It is important to note that when we talk about long-term success, it should be relative long-term success in a certain industry and within a certain period of time. For example, in the smartphone industry, whoever can always be the leader in the next 5-10 years (if no new industry emerges to replace it during this period of time) can be considered as having long-term success in this industry. Of course, in the process of industrial development, if the company can judge the situation, predict the opportunities of the next industry and seize them, when this new industry comes, the company will enter the next relative long-term success period (this long-term success period may be 5, 10 or 20 years), and so on. In this cycle, the company is developing and the industry is progressing. From this point of view, the rebound of Apple's stock price to a new high is very meaningful, which shows that Apple is still the leader in today's smartphone industry. Let me add that if the above view that there is no long-term business (absolute) means that even Apple, the company with the highest market value, is meaningless (destined to decline), then what are those companies in the smartphone industry today that claim to challenge Apple doing? The fact is just the opposite. The fact that many manufacturers are rushing to chase and challenge Apple proves the value behind Apple's high market value.

Secondly, this view believes that Apple has no innovation. So we also want to ask here, if Apple has no innovation, who in the smartphone industry has innovation? Or who can use innovation to create real business value for themselves, to be precise, use innovation to create higher revenue, profit and market value than Apple? Here, innovation is also a relative concept. Just like the example of a bear chasing two people, you don’t need to run faster than the bear, you just need to run faster than the other person to survive. The same is true for the industry. When industry innovation reaches a stage bottleneck, Apple does not need any disruptive innovation. As long as no opponent runs faster than Apple, Apple will always be the representative and leader of innovation in the smartphone industry.

This view also uses many factors, such as the fact that Apple's iOS7 operating system has not been well received after its release, the lack of refinement in its products, and the fact that the Apple brand is no longer important, to prove that Apple's stock price is not worth applauding. Is this really the case?

According to statistics, as of May this year, 88% of iPhone and iPad devices are already running iOS 7, while only 8.5% of Android devices are running Google Android 4.4 Kitkat. If the iOS7 operating system is really as bad as this view says, would the user upgrade rate to iOS7 be so high? At least it is far higher than its rivals Android and Windows Phone. As for the sense of refinement, we really hope that this view can list examples and facts that surpass Apple's iPhone because of its sense of refinement.

Speaking of the influence of the Apple brand, we just want to give an example to illustrate it. According to reports, American talk show host Jimmy Kimmel recently conducted an experiment on Hollywood Boulevard, pasting the Apple logo on the back of a $20 Casio watch, making many people believe that it was really the upcoming iWatch. Surprisingly, no one could tell that it was not a real iWatch, and even praised this old Casio watch: the good texture of the rubber strap, the alarm function that makes people love it, the lightweight appearance, etc. In fact, many people interviewed said that they would buy any product from Apple, even if it was just a Casio watch with an Apple logo. The words of one passerby are quite representative: "If it is made by Apple, it must be a good thing, right?

Specifically, regarding Apple's upcoming iPhone 6, a recent comScore survey shows that more than 25 million people in the United States are eagerly awaiting this new product. The survey shows that 35% of iPhone users in the United States (13 years and above) may upgrade their devices in the next 6 months. Combining this data with comScore's US smartphone market data in June, it can be seen that 25.5 million iPhone users in the United States will want to upgrade their devices. Remember, this is still in the US market where high-end smartphones are saturated.

Another research agency, RWBaird, released a survey of 1,000 US residents on iPhone 6 purchase intentions in July this year. 6.8% of them said they would buy it as soon as possible, even if they don't know the final appearance of iPhone 6 yet. This 6.8% ratio is higher than the survey results before the release of iPhone 5s last year. The company also predicted that users' interest in iPhone 6 will rise sharply with the release of this phone, regardless of whether they have owned an iPhone before. In this survey, 34.4% of people said they plan to upgrade their old iPhone to iPhone 6.

If the above facts are not enough to illustrate the influence of the Apple brand on user purchases, we really have nothing to say.

In summary, we believe that the existence and development of everything is relative, and that comparison under relative conditions is more meaningful and closer to objective reality. From this point of view, the recent record highs in Apple's stock price and market value are a precursor to a new round of growth in the smartphone industry for Apple, and are generally optimistic about it in the industry. In view of the sharp decline in the performance (shipments and profits) of Samsung, Apple's biggest competitor, and the lack of periodic innovation in the smartphone industry (there is no sign of manufacturers that can challenge Apple from an innovation perspective), Apple is still the relatively leading representative and market leader in the current smartphone industry innovation.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.