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Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Nokia and BlackBerry are beginning to look like winners on Wall Street, as Apple’s buzz cools off. In the last six months, Nokia’s stock gained 12.20%, BlackBerry gained 43.33%, while Apple gained only 7.25%, underperforming Nasdaq, which was up 10.20%.
Still, Nokia’s and BlackBerry’s stocks are trading well below their highs back in the old days, before iPhone stole the buzz from them.
And their comeback is less a matter of new buzz for the two companies than it is bargain hunting among investors and romantic fans who see some value left in the old mobile communications pioneers.
| Company | 6-Month Price Change | 5-year Price Change |
| BlackBerry | 43.33% | 43.46% |
| Nokia | 12.20 | 134.38 |
| Apple | 7.25 | 71.32 |
NASDAQ 100 10.20 107.13
Source: Finance.yahoo.com 9/30/2017
| Company | PEG Ratio | Return on Assets |
| BlackBerry | -19.13 | 0.48% |
| Nokia | 0.83 | 1.61 |
| Apple | 1.45 | 11.52 |
Source: Finance.yahoo.com 9/30/2017
| Company | Revenues | Operating Margins |
| BlackBerry | 1.05B | 3.05% |
| Nokia | $28.27B | 4.83 |
| Apple | $223.51B | 26.84 |
Source: Finance.yahoo.com 9/30/2017
While buzz for Nokia and BlackBerry products hasn’t come back, the buzz for Apple’s products is cooling off, as evidenced by a number of “red flags” rising around the company. Like the shorter lines of consumers outside Apple’s stores for the release of iPhone 8. And a sharp slow-down in Apple’s sales growth, from 27.10% back in June 2015 to 7.20% recently — see tables.
Then there’s the squeezing of operating margins from 30.15% to 26.84%, and a sharp slow-down in the company’s profit growth from 32.70% to 11.80%.
Apple’s Key Financial Metrics as of October 3, 2017
| Forward PE | 14.09 |
| Operating Margin | 26.84% |
| Qtrly Revenue Growth (yoy) | 7.20% |
| Qtrly Earnings Growth (yoy) | 11.80% |
Source: Finance.yahoo.com
Apple’s Key Financial Metrics as of November 29, 2016
| Forward PE | 11.09 |
| Operating Margin | 27.83% |
| Qtrly Revenue Growth (yoy) | -9.00% |
| Qtrly Earnings Growth (yoy) | -19.00% |
Source: Finance.yahoo.com
Apple’s Key Financial Metrics as of June 23, 2015
| Forward PE | 13.11 |
| Operating Margin | 30.15% |
| Qtrly Revenue Growth (yoy) | 27.10% |
| Qtrly Earnings Growth (yoy) | 32.70% |
Source: Finance.yahoo.com
Meanwhile, Apple has very little to demonstrate to the world in terms of new products, other than different versions of the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook, all developed by Steve Jobs. In fact, Apple’s innovation machine is slowing down. The company is way down on the patent list, which is topped by IBM IBM +1.53% and Samsung.
Nokia’s and BlackBerry’s history is a stark reminder to Apple’s leadership of what happens to technology icons when the innovation machine slows down and the buzz for their products is gone.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2017/10/04/nokia-and-blackberry-look-like-winners-as-apples-buzz-cools-off/#24d733185eb3