Ondrej Holzman The general meeting of Apple shareholders took place on Friday, and CEO Tim Cook had to face a lot of questions. He chaired the general meeting himself and discussed iPhones, acquisitions, Apple TV and other matters with investors...
We are shortly after the general meeting they brought some data and information, we will now look at the whole event more widely.
Apple shareholders first had to approve the re-election of board members, confirm the accounting firm in office, and also approve several proposals presented by the board of directors - all of which passed with 90 percent or higher approval. The company's top employees will now receive more shares and their compensation and bonuses will be even more tied to the company's performance.
Several proposals came to the General Assembly from outside as well, but no proposal – such as the establishment of a special advisory commission on human rights – passed the vote. After completing all the formalities, Cook moved to his remarks and then to questions from individual shareholders. At the same time, Ty assured that within 60 days, Apple will comment on how it will proceed with its dividend payment and share buyback programs.
Retrospect
Tim Cook first took stock of last year in a relatively comprehensive manner. For example, he mentioned the MacBook Air, which he recalled was called by critics as "the best laptop ever made." For the iPhone 5C and 5S, he said both models outsold their predecessors in their price categories, highlighting Touch ID, which "has been exceptionally well received."
[do action=”citation”]It is now harder to label Apple TV as just a hobby.[/do]
The new A7 processor with 64-bit architecture, the iOS 7 mobile operating system, which includes iTunes Radio, and the iPad Air also came in for a shakeup. Interesting data fell for iMessage. Apple has already delivered over 16 billion push notifications to iOS devices, with 40 billion added every day. Every day, Apple delivers several billion requests for iMessage and FaceTime.
Apple TV
An interesting remark was made by the head of the Californian company about Apple TV, which earned one billion dollars in 2013 (including content sales) and is the fastest growing hardware product in Apple's portfolio. increased by 80 percent year-on-year. "Now it's harder to label this product as just a hobby," Cook admitted, fueling speculation that Apple could introduce a revised version in the coming months.
However, Tim Cook traditionally did not talk about new products. Although he prepared a joke for the shareholders when he first suggested that he might announce new products during the general meeting, only to cool down after loud applause that it was only a joke.
Boss the world's most admired company at least he talked about the production of sapphire, which will most likely appear in one of the next apple products. But again, it was nothing concrete. The sapphire glass factory was created for a "secret project" that Cook cannot talk about at this time. Secrecy remains a key point for Apple, as the competition is awake and constantly copying.
Green company
At the general meeting, the proposal of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) was also initially voted on, in which it was stated that Apple would be obliged to declare all investments in environmental matters. The proposal was almost unanimously rejected, but it came up later during questions directed at Tim Cook, and the topic inflamed the CEO.
[do action=”quote”]If you want me to do this for the money, you should sell your shares.[/do]
Apple cares a lot about the environment and renewable energy sources, its "green steps" also make sense from an economic point of view, but Cook had a clear answer for the NCPPR representative. "If you want me to do these things purely for ROI, then you should sell your shares," responded Cook, who intends to convert Apple 100 percent to renewable energy, which means, among other things, building the largest solar plant and having it owned by a non-energy supplier.
To back up his point that Apple isn't all about money, Cook added that, for example, making devices usable by people with disabilities may not always increase revenue, but that certainly doesn't stop Apple from continuing to develop such products.
Investovani
In addition to promising to reveal news on the stock buyback program in the next 60 days, Cook revealed to shareholders that Apple had significantly increased investment in research and development, up 32 percent from the previous year, despite already significantly investing in the area. invested.
With iron regularity, Apple also began buying various smaller companies. Over the past 16 months or so, the iPhone maker has taken 23 companies under its wing (not all acquisitions have been made public), with Apple not chasing any big catches. By doing so, Tim Cook was alluding, for example, to Facebook's giant investment in WhatsApp.
It paid off for Apple to invest in the BRIC countries. In 2010, Apple recorded a profit of four billion dollars in Brazil, Russia, India and China, last year it already "earned" 30 billion dollars in these areas.
New campus in 2016
Asked about the giant new campus that Apple began building last year, Cook said it would be a place that would serve as an "innovation center for decades." Construction is said to be moving forward quickly, and Apple is expected to move into the brand new headquarters in 2016.
In the end, the production of Apple products on American soil was also addressed, when Tim Cook highlighted the Mac Pro produced in Austin, Texas, and Arizona sapphire glass, but did not provide information about other potential products moving from China to domestic soil.
Now it's harder to label this product as just a hobby. Thought in connection with growth and its earnings, not because something is perhaps coming up.
Yes, but precisely because of the constant growth, Apple could also somewhat change the entire product, which is speculated about.
I would like Apple TV. Actually, it's been in my head for a long time, but I wouldn't like to buy it knowing that it will be new in a quarter of a year.