As 2020 wraps up, here's a look at Google searches compiled in this graph by Reddit user Roshaan Khan.
Explore trends at Google search at https://trends.google.com/trends/yis/2020/US/.
Explore trends at Google search at https://trends.google.com/trends/yis/2020/US/.
At the end of last month, Apple reported record first quarter results for 2020 ending December 28, 2019. With a quarterly revenue of $91.8 billion — a new record for Apple — the quarterly earnings show an increase in 9 percent from a year ago, with quarterly earnings at $4.99 per diluted share up as much as 19 percent. 61 percent of earnings came from international sales.
Apple’s board of directors also offers a cash dividend of $0.77 per share of the Company’s common stock, payable on February 13, 2020 to shareholders of record as of close of business on February 10, 2020.
Apple’s emergence as an investment powerhouse is evident in the Oracle of Omaha’s investment. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway has had a significant quarter himself, divesting himself of his beloved newspaper holdings entirely, which has operated at a loss while gaining big on his Apple investment. Buffett first invested $17 billion in Apple in 2012. Since then, he has increased his holdings. His latest investment raked in over $75 billion, recouping any losses from his newspaper investments. Buffett was committed to the newspaper industry despite declining sales and had been a paper boy, delivering Washington Post newspapers as a thirteen-year-old in Washington D.C. as a kid while his father served in Congress. The divestiture is significant as it reveals an acceptance of a changing publishing industry. At the same time, his increase in holdings in Apple also shows the veteran investor’s belief in the company, despite publicly acknowledging that he does not have a keen understanding of technology. Buffett shared that he valued the innovative products and recognized their profitability but was uncertain of how technology businesses would fare over a decade or more.
His perception of Apple is evident in the 2012 shareholder meeting for Berkshire Hathaway.
His support shows that Apple has succeeded in creating a reliable business model based on strong business fundamentals — a key factor for any investment according to Benjamin Graham’s “The Intelligent Investor,” a book that Buffett and many other notable investors considers his own personal guide to investment.
Both Warren Buffett and his long-time investment partner, Charlie Munger, expanded on this further more recently in the 2018 investment meeting.
For its upcoming fiscal 2020 second quarter, Apple provides the following guidance:
revenue between $63.0 - $67.0 billion
gross margin between 38.0- 39.0 percent
operating expenses $9.6 - $9.7 billion
other income/(expense) of $250 million
tax rate of approximately 16.5 percent
Apple offers live streaming of its Q1 2020 financial results at www.apple.com/investor/earnings-call/ available for up to two weeks after its announcement on January 28th. More information is also available at apple.com and its investors relations website, investor.apple.com.
From all of us at Elf, we wish you a Happy New Year!