A year ago the news about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was how soon would the tech giant hit the mythical $1,000 a share mark and what would be the company’s next product that would revolutionize the industry. Apple had more cash than the government and what would it possibly do with that cash.
On present day
On this date, things have changed a lot for Apple; its market share, its margins, and customer loyalty seem to be fading away. Market researcher, IDC’s report on Apple makes it clearly evident that it’ market share, for both smartphones and tablets, is shrinking. From first quarter 2012 to the same period in 2013, the smartphone market share of Apple fell from 23% to 17.3%. During the same period, Apple also lost a considerable market for its tablet, as its share shrunk from 58.1% to 39.6%.
The cause
The loss of market share has two causes. First, the loyalty of customers towards Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been declining, as they have been prioritizing value for money more than the brand name. This is evident from the fact that about half of the sales of the wireless carrier are coming from the cheaper and comparatively outdated iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S models rather than the iPhone 5.
Second, competition is taking a bite out of Apple as Samsung‘s dominance, in the smartphone and tablet markets is rising. According to IDC Samsung’s market share for smartphones and tablets has increased from 28.8% to 32.7% and 11.3% to 17.9% respectively from Q1 2012 to Q1 2013.
What about the cash pile?
I use the word ‘pile’ after cash because the cash is only sitting in the balance sheet without adding any actual value to its investors. Out of Apple’s $388 billion market capitalization, $145 billion stands in cash and cash equivalents representing about 37% of the company’s value. As this cash is invested mainly in long-term marketable and mortgage-backed securities yielding a return of less than 1% over a period of last 3 years, this reflects highly inefficient cash management considering that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has a ROE of 33%.
The company does plan to return cash to its investors in the form of dividend and share repurchase. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), in its last earnings release mentioned that it plans to return $100 billion to shareholders by 2015. It is no doubt a shrewd move, but as the company has a handsome generation of free cash flow, the same problem of inefficient cash management will be cropping up again.
Is it same for all?
Like Apple’s iPhone 5, sales of Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, have failed to meet the company’s expectations. The Galaxy S4 had a solid launch, but its demand started falling once the tech reviewers decided that it isn’t a major upgrade compared to the S3. If reviews of any phone are not very welcoming then their sales are expected to fall as the high-end smartphone market nears saturation.
