It wasn't that long ago that Glavine, Greg Maddux and the Atlanta Braves had a run-down organization and forgettable powder blue uniforms. But pitchers like Glavine and Maddux relied more on skill and guile than pure power to dominate the National League. Three hundred wins later, Glavine has turned out to be a real gem on the diamond.Despite the bearish tenor of the current market, there are gems as consistent and crafty as Glavine. Some stocks are a bit younger, but the skill behind the companies, the wisdom of management and real value of its products, will survive and thrive even if the market tails off because of external forces like sub-prime mortgage suckage.
I look at Apple as a World Series-level company. Anyone who owned an iPod from its inception and bought into the Co stock in October of 2004 is a richer investor for it. It didn't take a genius to break down Apple's potential with the iPod, iTunes and now, the iPhone, to go along with rising Mac sales. I've owned a PowerBook for three years and I will never go back to PCs. But going back to my claim that non-geniuses (anti-geniuses?) like myself could have taken the Apple rocket ship to huge gains... Even a small $1,200 monthly investment, whether by design or budgetary limitation, would have net spectacular results. Since October of 2004, the stock is up 481%, and that small monthly investment would have added up to more than $41,000 by now. The return on that $41k? more than $58,000.
Sure hindsight seems worthless, but for iPod owners in 2004, the writing was on the wall. Even with the recent pullback in AAPL's stock, the gains are immense. A "drip" approach to Apple would've eased a lot of stress over entry points and fears of a crash in the stock. Though Apple has its critics and haters, there's no other Co that has more innovation and leadership. That's why, even with a fat market cap of $114 billion, there's still room for growth. Will Apple become a $1 trillion company someday? There are a few analysts who think so. That would mean Friday's closing PPS of $131.85 is a steep discount. At $1 trillion, the stock would be worth $1,156.
Those numbers are way out of reach for my brain to comprehend. I tend to think that Apple is as susceptible as any to hitting a ceiling someday, probably when Steve Jobs retires. Until then, I can take the ups and downs. Watching AAPL trade so well this year despite a number of issues — real facts and manufactured fiction — has me as optimistic as ever.
Like Glavine, Apple is an active Hall of Famer.
Pupule Paul is slightly long AAPL.
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