Apple is DOOMED!

How many times do we hear that statement from tech journalists and/or market analysts in any given week? How about, “Has Apple lost its ability to innovate?” Or this drumbeat: “Tim Cook ain’t no Steve Jobs!” This drivel seems to increase both in frequency and intensity every week that goes by without Apple creating a new product category.

All those negative vibes have served two purposes. 1.) They provide link bait for the publishers of the rags they’re written for and 2.) they artificially depress Apple’s stock price. The first, while boring beyond belief, doesn’t really hurt anyone. The simple formula of providing fodder for Apple haters is a sure-fire way for “market analysts” to keep their page views up and their advertisers happy. But, sooner or later those chickens come home to roost. Negative sentiment serves as a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy that feeds on itself. When you have enough people saying AAPL is crap, every down-tick in the stock price vindicates their “analysis”. The poorer the stock performs, the more “analysts” jump on the bandwagon…

…until those pesky facts get in the way.

Like the ones revealed in yesterday’s earnings call. Again, Tim Cook and his minions prove the baiters wrong. With another near-record quarter that topped predictions, margins approaching 40%, a seven-for-one stock split, an increased stock buy-back and a dividend bump, Apple has proven again what a money-minting machine it truly is. This isn't rocket science. How can they continue to perform so well? They refuse to sell anything but premium products at premium prices BECAUSE THEY ARE WORTH IT!

I would like to personally thank all those baiters and haters for making AAPL one of the best equity values on the planet. Their inceasant droning convinced the investing world that the world's most cash-flush company wasn't worth the price of their stock. That's quite a feat if you consider: Based on yesterday's earnings, if AAPL were trading at the same P/E ratio as FB (Facebook), it's share price would top $4400! Those of us who refused to get caught up in all the “woe is Apple” claptrap and stuck with (or increased) our long AAPL positions,** just made 8% in one day!

I anticipate more good news for many quarters to come.

** In the interest of full disclosure: For the past 8 years, the MacTexan's portfolio has contained a high percentage of AAPL.