14 DAY TRIAL // Criticism aimed against Apple is increasing these days after the company announced declining iPhone sales and the man in the first line to be blamed for this dropping performance is none other than CEO Tim Cook.
Despite the fact that Apple has generated $51 billion in revenue the last fiscal quarter, there are analysts who believe that Tim Cook isn’t the right man to lead the company, as Cupertino needs someone who is more of a visionary. Just like Steve Jobs was, that is.
One of the first to blast Tim Cook for his tenure at the helm of the company was industry analyst Bob Lefsetz, who used some pretty harsh words to explain that Apple needs a new CEO.
“Tim Cook needs to be replaced. Apple doesn’t need a traffic cop, it needs a visionary. Execution is important, but it’s secondary to inspiration. The idea is king, never forget it,” he said.
Doug Kass, also an analyst and a hedge fund manager, said that what Apple needs right now is a new Steve Jobs, calling for Tim Cook to resign from the company.
“We all remember Jobs, and one of last night’s messages to me was that Cook is no Jobs,” he was quoted as saying by BGR. “Nothing I heard changed my view that Apple’s product-upgrade cycle will now elongate after the unprecedented success of the iPhone 6. That was likely Apple’s last important product upgrade, and the company seems unlikely to ever repeat that success.”
Pro-Apple statements
Not everyone is against Apple and CEO Tim Cook though. There are analysts out there who believe that the company is on the right path to recovery and expect the next-generation products to bring significant increases in terms of sales and revenue.
David Einhorn, hedge fund manager of Greenlight Capital, said in a statement that he sees “tremendous value” in the Apple brand, especially because new products are already on their way. His statements come only a couple of days after Tim Cook said the next iPhones would come with technology that could change our lives.
“We continue to own Apple, which is traded down to a single-digit PE of a bear case earnings. We believe there is tremendous value in Apple's brand and growing global customer base that periodically buys new devices and increasingly buys additional services,” Einhorn explained.
The iPhone 7 is projected to launch in September, so expect the next few months to bring us more similar statements either taking the side of Apple, or criticizing the company for its performance. The company will provide us with a glimpse into its future product lineup at WWDC in June.