Apple and Obama Are Flush With Cash Right Now.....
Ahhh, to be doing well! It's a good thing. No, we don't begrudge people doing better than us. It's what makes America great.. And in that vein, we recognize two entities doing well - for now. Apple, Inc and the Obama Campaign.
Apple announced today that they have about $100 Billion in cash on hand, just sitting in the bank, and so they have decided to give their first dividends since 1995. Funny, 17 years seems and awful long time, and $100 Billion a lot of money, to wait to pay your investors. But, when the stock is shooting like a rocket, you really don't care if you get a paltry $2.65 per share...
While this seems like the best of all news, I've got a different take on this. I'll mark this comment for today, and we'll see who's right. Here it is: for the time being, Apple has peaked. The sudden giving of dividends signals to us that for now, Apple has no new tricks in it's magic bag - at least for now. Not to the extent that they have under Steve Jobs. When you cannot keep stockholders by continuing to be more innovative than anyone else, you do it by giving them money.. Apple stock is about $412 per share - let's go back a year or two from now, and see where it is.
The Obama camp had a nice day today as well... They reported raising over $45 million in February, twice as much as in January. Clearly, the money machine is picking up speed, and they've raised over $300 million this election cycle. Yeah, they're doing fine, but not as well as they planned....
The bad news is if the goal was to raise $1 billion, they appear to be falling short. They would need to raise $700 million in 8 months, or almost $90 a month - twice what they did in February. Not impossible, but in this crappy economy, we don't see ordinary people giving as much as they did in 2008. the good news is they won't need it to outspend whoever wins the GOP nomination. The people who are crying for Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum to drop out aren't doing it because the party is getting split.... It's all about the money. Every dollar spent is one less left to fight Barack Obama - and Obama knows it too...
Yes, these are the salad days for Apple and Obama.. The Good Times! But, nothing lasts forever. Hopefully, both of them will recognize that maybe they have peaked, and today is a highwater mark for them... Few realize that moment in time when they rule the world.. Possibly only movie stars and baseball players - getting a trophy is usually a sure sign that you've maxed out... Politicians and businessmen rarely realize it. Some pull rabbits out of hats, and do it again, and even better than the first time - but it happens rarely....
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