Some links re: The Wall Street Journal on Apple

A person I’d never spoken with before emailed me today with a complaint about HP (I get these often because of a post I wrote years ago that got a lot of attention: HP’s Horrible, Unhelpful, Incompetent Tech Support and Service). I always enjoy reading the messages I get, & I try to help as best I can¹.

I mentioned in my reply that I now use Macs. My correspondent replied in part:

But Apple apparently is in the same decline trend as HP, if not worse.

Huh? I wrote back:

Out of curiosity, on what do you base your idea that “Apple apparently is in the same decline trend as HP”?

Here’s what he told me:

Wall Street Journal articles. Apple has been losing money by the billions…a little bit more than HP…but from different processes. Apparently HP is due to bad investments/mergers and takeovers while Apple is due to bad CEO leadership or lack of since Jobs died.

My two accountants confirmed my WSJ interpretation of articles on Apple and HP.

Oh boy. I wrote back the following. I have no idea if it will make a difference.

Oh, that’s funny. The WSJ often does a really bad job reporting about Apple (& other companies too). I wouldn’t take what it say re: Apple to be good guidance.

Here are a few articles that explain what I’m talking about (the last one kind of sums it up):

• http://daringfireball.net/linked/2013/02/26/efrati-looking-at-it

• http://daringfireball.net/linked/2013/04/02/has-to

• http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/04/25/kee

• http://daringfireball.net/linked/2013/01/08/wsj-iphone

• http://daringfireball.net/linked/2013/03/13/leapfrogged

• http://daringfireball.net/linked/2013/03/15/only-hope

• http://www.loopinsight.com/2012/03/21/video-streaming-eats-up-data-plan-smashing-ipad-with-hammer-with-break-it/

• http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2013/01/15/did-the-wsj-get-punkd-on-apple-or-is-it-rotten-to-the-core/

• http://www.hiltmon.com/blog/2013/03/12/guessing-the-wall-street-journal-agenda-for-apple/ (pretty devastating)

Apple isn’t losing money at all. They have over $100 billion IN CASH. Their stock is going down, but that’s more due to weirdness in the stock market & a misunderstanding of Apple’s business by analysts. Stock going down != losing money.

So, while it might not be a good time to invest in Apple’s stock, it’s certainly as good a time as any for someone to look at buying an Apple product, if that would float your boat. It did mine. :)

People in the tech industry who follow Apple know when the Journal is spewing BS, but your average reader won’t. It reminds me of how I used to read Consumer Reports before I got into tech, & their reviews seemed to make sense. Then, after I was in this business for a while, I started realizing that their reviews of computers & phones were often completely full of crap². But your average reader isn’t gonna know that at all.