Comments on: 2005 Investments

By: Guangshen Missed, More Shanda | Doubting to shuo: Chinese, Investing, EFL and Being a Geek in Taiwan

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 10:31:56 +0000

[...] I said I’d had my eye on a certain Chinese stock. At that time, I was strongly considering a purchase in Guangshen Railway- [...]

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 06:16:54 +0000

My delusions of grandeur aren’t nearly so extensive as to think I can keep cranking out 29% growth every year like Peter Lynch did or something like that. Actually, even if I did try to realize my gains now, taxes and trading costs would cut into them quite a bit. I’m planning to keep my companies for the long haul, barring something drastic that changes my valuations of them.

I may not have been very clear about Apple in my post. With net sales increasing by 68% over the last year and 124% over the last two, zero long term debt, and a stash of three and a half billion dollars in cash, I think Apple the company is fine. If I were an employee, I wouldn’t have many worries about the company at all. Other than profits, one huge improvement since Jobs’s return is that Apple is now considered cool by young people who aren’t geeks. It’s almost become a fasion statement to have an iPod.

It’s Apple the stock, that’s very much over valued. I completely agree that it’s risky over the long term to be invested in the company and that’s why I got out of it last year. Apple has never had much of a market share since the old Apple II days. It’s always had to innovate just to survive. For the price I paid several years ago, that was fine. For the current hyped-up prices, it’s not.

By: Clyde Warden

Clyde Warden — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 13:36:14 +0000

Very good Mark, but keep in mind, these are not real gains until realized, which means as you hold on to them into the future, your gain is likely to be diluted. I’m more impressed with your Apple staying power, but I totally disagree on the future of the company. Apple’s weakness is currently the same as it has always been–Steve Jobs. There is just no one else who can run the company (and more importantly the reality distortion field) like Jobs can, if anything were to happen to him, things would be in doubt. While everyone is happy with the cash flow generated by the iPod/iTunes boom, a big question remains as to what the company actually is. It seems the iPod sales have not rubbed off on to Mac sales and the Mac is now one of the smallest players still left on the OS field. Only Jobs can hold together an empire that ranges from computer hardware to online video purchase, and don’t forget his movie company. Apple is a very risky stock over the long term.

Wish you continued good picks in 2006!

By: Darin

Darin — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 04:45:59 +0000

My Favorite part of this post is:
Legal Disclaimer: All of the information in this article is accurate to the best of my knowledge. However, I make no guaruntee about the accuracy of anything written above. I’m not responsible for any mis-typings, or any other errors in the information. If you purchase any stock solely because I did, you do so at your own risk.