Fred Wilson: Why I Dumped My Google And Apple Stock (GOOG)
I’m holding on to my AAPL stock. I bought it at a ridiculously low price ($80.09) and it’s trading just under $90 ($88.36) right now. I’ve made about 10% so far and I anticipate better returns coming.
I completely understand the issues around transparency. It’s true that the health issues and the backdating scandal are troubling. But Apple remains a “screaming buy” on the fundamentals, and I’m not convinced that they lack post-Steve plans. They’ve been consciously moving other executives to the fore in order to display — convincingly, I think — that they have plans for continued performance once Steve retires.
I think that Jobs has been doing what every CEO should do: creating an organization that can succeed without him. For a very long time it made sense to embrace and extend the Cult of Steve. Now that it doesn’t make sense to do so we’re starting to see that the Cult of Steve isn’t everything — everyone from Jonathan Ive to Timothy Cook are quality executives who know how to run a stellar company.
