Side Note: when Jobs approached Cook to join Apple in 1998, many thought he should have stayed at Compaq. Apple was in a bad place.
His starting salary: $400k + $500k signing bonus (CNBC).
People, the Cook tweet was a joke. Let's talk about the actual biggest $AAPL winner: in absolute dollar terms, Buffett.
Between 2016-2018, Berkshire bought ~1B shares (adjusted for 4-1 stock split) for $36B.
That's now worth $150B+:
T/F: In absolute public market dollar terms, mostly tech-phobic Buffett — led by his PMs Todd Combs and Ted Weschler — made the most profitable tech trade ever?
Since August 2018, Apple's market cap has grown from $1T to $3T. Despite delivering huge results, Tim Cook's product strategy is often misunderstood.
Users are going deeper into its ecosystem and Apple is positioned to win the next computing platform: AR.
Here's a breakdown 🧵
1/ The best way to highlight the success of Cook's product strategy is cash. Over the past 3 years, Apple's *free cash flow* has totalled an absurd $225B.
Apple has the world's most profitable:
◻️ smartphone
◻️tablet
◻️ laptop
◻️ desktop
◻️ smartwatch
◻️ wireless headphones
2/ Apple analyst Neil Cybart explains why the company's product line is unmatched:
"Computers small and light enough to be worn on the body are sold next to comps so large that built-in handles are required. All these products are designed to work seamlessly together."
When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone in Jan 2007, the maker of BlackBerry — Research in Motion (RIM) — had a market cap near Apple's ($60B vs. $75B).
Now, it’s $5B vs. ~$3T.
While Jobs positioned iPhone perfectly, RIM made 5 decisions that led to its fall.
Here's a breakdown🧵
1/ The BlackBerry vs. iPhone story is not as clean as it seems in hindsight. When iPhone officially hit markets in June 2007, many thought it would fail.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer famously balked at the price ($500) and design ("no keyboard").
Tech media was skeptical:
2/ Blackberry sales actually grew for many years after iPhone's launch.
In 2007, RIM moved <10m BlackBerry units.
In 2011, RIM moved more than 5x the units, selling 50m+ handsets for the year.
In 1998, Marvel offered Sony all of its heroes + villains for $25m. Sony said it *only* wanted Spider-Man (and paid $10m for it)
While “No Way Home” is the first pandemic-era film to make $1B, the other Marvel films grossed $13B+ for Disney.
LESSON: Always take the first offer.
For other timeless business lessons, check out my Saturday email: trungphan.substack.com
Here is more background on the Spider Man deal from WSJ:
Notes:
◻️The $13B+ is prob closer to $20B (WSJ article from 2018)
◻️ Tom Holland Spider-Man series (Homecoming, Far From Home, No Way Home) co-produced by Disney-owned Marvel Studios and Sony-owned Columbia Pictures (w/ Sony handling distribution)