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Apple CEO to investors: Ignore the rumors

Summary: It's time for investors to decide whether they trust Apple to run the company, or believe--and react to--every rumor that's published.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

Apple's Q1 2013 earnings report is out, and it has been another strong quarter for the Cupertino, California, giant. But there have been reports suggesting that Apple has made significant component order cuts, a move which may indicate that the iOS juggernaut could be stalling. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook is advising investors to be cautious about putting too much stock into the rumor mill.

(Credit: Apple)

During yesterday's earnings call with investors and analysts, Cook took time to address the rumor mill.

"I want to take a moment and make a comment," Cook said. "I don't want to comment on any particular rumor, but I'd question the accuracy of any kind of rumor about our plans. I'd stress that even if a particular data point were factual, it would be impossible to interpret [what this means] for our overall business."

He went on to say that "yields can vary, supplier performance can vary" and that "there's an inordinately long list of things that would make any single data point not a great proxy for what's going on."

In other words, take what you hear with a pinch of salt, because even if the information is true, when it is taken out of the context of the business as a whole, it's impossible to know what it means.

Read this

Apple Q1: Strong iPhone sales; mixed vs. expectations

Apple Q1: Strong iPhone sales; mixed vs. expectations

I agree with this, and said as much when I covered the initial rumor last week. What bothered me about the report was the total lack of concrete figures. Without context, the report was virtually meaningless.

Cook also went on to dismiss the need for a cheaper iPhone. When asked whether Apple is considering a cut-priced iPhone, he said that the company is "not interested in revenue for revenues' sake" and that the company "could put the Apple brand on a lot more stuff, but we don't want to do that."

Revenues, cash in the bank, and customer satisfaction suggests that Apple is doing a fine job of running Apple.

Topics: Apple, Hardware, iPhone, iPad

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47 comments
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  • Doesn't Matter

    Maybe more people are just waking up to the reality of competition! With competing Operating Systems you get more for your money and in many areas of hardware it is the same.

    Customers aren't dumb and in tough times you see them making more cost driven choices.
    slickjim
    Reply 2 Votes

    • slickjim

      You may be on to something about more competition, unfortunately for most people having a "just as good but not as great" product is fine with them as long as it has a lower price tag. All of the smartphones out there really mimic the iOS touch user interface to some degree.

      In the end many consumers want something cheap and "close enough" to the original.
      PogoBlue
      Reply 2 Votes

      • Fanbois..

        You apple fanbois are all alike. Apple makes a good product, no doubt...so do other phone makers...other devices are not inferior as all of you fanbois like to think. iphones are now playing catchup with the other smartphones out there. It isn't about who started what...it's about who can innovate and add features to sell their phones. I know exactly what iphones are capable of versus what android phones and windows phones are capable of and I choose my phone based on capabilities, not on cost. So please just stop impugning anyone other than apple because you are afraid of the fact that apple is no longer in the lead...you think the only thing other smart phones do is 'mimic apple touchscreen'? That comment alone shows how little you know or want to know about other technology.
        ltlgeneral64
        Reply 3 Votes

        • Ironic

          Any time I read a comment without substance, in which the commenter chooses to call others who are not in his/her group a "fanboi", the commenter is demonstrating that he/she is a "fanboi".

          They just don't realize the irony of their outbursts and insults... which is funny. ;-)
          Harvey Lubin
          Reply 2 Votes

          • Apple Fanbois

            If you ignore the facts, you are a Fanboi. The iPhone is not the best selling phone world wide Samsung Galaxy III is by a wide margin. Android in general outsells iOS almost 3 to 1. Several Android smart phones and tablets have higher resolution and better color and contract screens than the Apple so called "retina" display. Several Android phones have more and superior features that the iPhone. Samsung manufacturers about 100% of the components in their devices, Apple may manufacture about 10% of theirs. Where do you think this will eventually lead, in terms of features and quality?
            bigpicture
            Reply Vote

          • But...

            'If you ignore the facts, you are a Fanboi. The iPhone is not the best selling phone world wide Samsung Galaxy III is by a wide margin. Android in general outsells iOS almost 3 to 1.'
            You made 3 statements, 2 of which cannot be backed up by REAL numbers, since neither Samsung nor Google ever release actual product sales: only category sales for Samsung smartphones as a whole or generalised 'activations' of Android from Google. Neither releases anything remotely useful with regard to tablet sales.
            So flag waving for Samsung and Google without questioning the real world situation...makes 'you' a fanboy...and with blinkers, given your first statement.
            frogspaw
            Reply Vote

          • Okay then, lets discuss "just as good but not as great"

            Can you without using the phrase "it just works"?

            If that isn't an apple line then Pogo should definitely CR that and send it over to them. Priceless.
            Little Old Man
            Reply Vote

          • So in your opinion

            You can never recognise traits unless you harbour the same traits yourself?
            Along the lines of 'takes one to know one' and 'whoever smelt it dealt it'?

            Very mature and well thought out comment Harvey. Are you able to look at Pogo's comment subjectively or is that beyond you?
            Little Old Man
            Reply Vote

      • hey fanboi pogoblue

        Please tell us how windows phone resembles ios in any way
        Master Wayne
        Reply 1 Vote

  • Spin Master

    If he had rebutted the 50% decrease with info about a new supplier or another supplier of the same components raising their deliveries, I'd buy it. But he didn't - which speaks volumes.

    And there is no need for AAPL to create a low cost phone for China. Already exists - it's called a 'knockoff' - ride the subways in Shanghai (I've been there over 20 times in the last 6 years) and you will spot them. And they work great on China Mobile's network. :-)
    beau parisi
    Reply Vote

  • What else was he going to say?

    "Tim Cook is advising investors to be cautious about putting too much stock into the rumor mill."

    What is he supposed to say - "Yes, some rumore are true, so run now before it gets worse?"
    William Farrel
    Reply 3 Votes

    • tim cooks speech

      May be ok for a private company, but for a public one it spells doom. Apple may finally sucumb to its own medicine of having shills constantly badmouth microsoft. Now its their turn to suffer from writers spreading fears about the outlook of appl stock
      Master Wayne
      Reply 1 Vote

      • Right

        Because Microsoft shills like yourself don't EVER badmouth Apple or other Microsoft competitors.
        athynz
        Reply 1 Vote

        • shill i love my nexus 7

          I ordered it the day it was released, june 6 2012.

          Big difference between defending a good solid product in microsoft than being an automatic apple shill like yourself
          Master Wayne
          Reply 1 Vote

        • Come now people

          Would any CEO say otherwise?

          I'm just commenting on the fact that someone wrote a blog referencing that.

          Even if the rumors are all 100% true, what else would he say?
          William Farrel
          Reply 1 Vote

  • Nature abhors a vacuum

    If you're not going to provide the data yourself, expect others to do it for you, allowing members of the public to decide what they're going to believe.

    Given that, admonitions to "trust us", don't mean much (trust is earned).
    John L. Ries
    Reply 2 Votes

  • tim cook waves his hands at us

    "These are not the facts you are looking for. apple is perfect. Buy our products. Ignore our TANKING stock price."
    toddbottom3
    Reply 2 Votes

    • Because, of course, that is so much more

      intelligent and wise than looking at overall company performance. The dropping stock price is REAL. The 30% growth and record profit YOY, that's fantasy.
      baggins_z
      Reply Vote

      • What a stunning admission

        " that is so much more
        intelligent and wise"

        baggins just called all the apple fanboys on ZDNet "idiots".

        Wow, stunning admission from one of their senior leaders.

        PS your words would carry so much weight if apple fanboys didn't constantly equate stock price with quality while ignoring overall company performance. What changed? Oh yeah, aapl -35%.
        toddbottom3
        Reply 1 Vote

      • how many times do i have to tell the isheep

        That stock price is based on outlook not current performance
        Master Wayne
        Reply 1 Vote
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