#1 is a good point. Samsung's cash pile is $40 billion, decent but quite a bit smaller. Apple should be worth more than Samsung, just the size of the difference

#1 is a good point. Samsung's cash pile is $40 billion, decent but quite a bit smaller. Apple should be worth more than Samsung, just the size of the difference seems a bit out of step. About this moat. A fab is not exactly a shoe, it's not something that anyone can just do. The idea that Apple would make their own memory is out there. Apple still uses TSMC or Samsung to make their SoCs, and will have to keep paying those companies for that. Designing the chips is relatively low cost in comparison. Apple cannot easily just make their own. I mean this stuff is advanced technology, it's at least harder than switching from iPhone to Android. People talk a lot about the wall garden and how that prevents switching but this moat is theoretical, it's never been tested. Apple has been good about keeping pace or in front of the competition hardware wise. For a company making good products it deserves the profits, but if it falls behind I don't expect the "moat" to save it. Majority of apps people use are free and are cross-platform. There are only a handful of relevant apps like iMessage or Sketch that are truly apple exclusive. Mac sales have been declining recently and I personally use 5 platforms, linux, mac, windows, ios, android and have no major problems. #3 :)