On analyst Andrew Uerkwitz’s Apple FUD moment
Apple analysts be like….
Does anybody out there remember Trip?
He’s the analyst who told us Apple was going to disappear. Eager for a little Apple doom mongering, he was widely quoted. He was wrong, but I pinched myself this morning to see if I still felt and found that, sure enough, Apple has not disappeared.
There’s a new Trip in town, young Andrew Uerkwitz, who told clients, “We believe Apple lacks the courage to lead the next generation of innovation (AI, cloud-based services, messaging); instead will become more reliant than ever on the iPhone.”
He’s getting widely quoted too… Rinse, Repeat.
(The client note was/is weeks old, by the way, but the guys and girls at BI [no link] are always in the market for a recycled headline that gives them an opportunity for a little Apple-bashing, so far as I can see.)
Andrew really isn’t getting his head around this “innovation takes time and incremental improvement, and complex innovation takes longer” thing.
He thinks it’s like a potato, grown new each year.
Apple has made enough public statements about what it’s putting together that anyone who takes tech seriously should realize the company is planning something.
Apple is expanding into multiple markets and next year seems set to transform the iDevice industry all over again, with new adventures in AI-driven ambient computing. I think we’re going to see the Apple Watch begin to become more important than the iPhone as of next year. If you read my stuff you know I have that vision.
You can believe Uerkwitz if you like. He is apparently 49 percent right, though I think it’s the other 51 percent that’s getting the clicks this time around.
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So nothing new there.
The one question that all these memesayers always skirt around in their prognostications, is ‘if’ Apple isn’t innovative, just who the hell is?
That aside, just what constitutes innovation is a moveable feast encompassing myriad factors never discussed.
File under “5 minutes of notoriety”
Sure, I remember Trip. Trip Chowdry made his “Apple is as good as dead” statement back in mid-2013 and yes, Apple is still around. Fortunately for these so-called analysts, they never have to take responsibility for giving investors very poor advice. I’m sure plenty of investors must take losses if these analysts’ advice is followed to the letter. I can’t ever be certain if these so-called analysts are merely stupid or deliberately crooked. I don’t know what Chowdry-head is up to these days, but I’m sure he isn’t apologetic to anyone. If anything he probably is still pushing his “Apple is as good as dead” prediction because I’m sure he’s bound to be right one of these years. Still, Trip Chowdry’s bearish calls are basically an extreme like Brian White’s bullish calls. Apple has never gotten close to Brian White’s stock price calls which can also mislead investors into buying a stock that is a lousy performer. Apple isn’t doing as poorly as Trip predicted, but Apple certainly isn’t performing anywhere close to Brian’s predictions. I’d say they’re both pretty lousy as Apple analysts.
The internet is hungry for Apple controversies. You’ll never see this type of BS for Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook or Microsoft. Not even Yahoo gets this sort of “death is imminent” crap. Unfortunately, Tim Cook never does any real damage control and these stories are constantly repeated. Just think, Apple is one of the most profitable companies on the planet and yet the company is said to be a house of cards in a gale wind. What about all those other companies which are actually struggling to stay afloat. I’ve seen more positive articles about Chipotle Mexican Grill, GoPro and even BlackBerry than ones I see about Apple’s chances of survival. I guess the world is full of dumbasses and people with extremely poor judgment. We can always count on CNBC for trotting out these idiots for all to see and hear how Apple is doomed. Anything is possible, I have no doubt but these people never give up on wishing Apple to fade away. If they’re Americans, they’re very, very stupid wishing for any American company to fail.