4 ms·

They are going to buy out foxconn. :P Well maybe not. Then again foxconn is supposed to add 1 million assembly robots. Maybe they will buy out their factories

They are going to buy out foxconn. :P Well maybe not. Then again foxconn is supposed to add 1 million assembly robots. Maybe they will buy out their factories.

malandrew 15y ago
Buying a position in a company like Samsung (solid-state memory or screen tech), Foxconn (manufacturing), LG Display (screen tech) makes sense. Apple is a hardware company, so pretty much all their investments are in hardware or software that increases the value of or margins on their hardware (like chips designers and firms that increase the value of OS X or iOS, which in turn increases the value of Mac and iOS based devices) IMHO Foxconn makes more sense than any other investment because Apple is directly contributing or jointly inventing cutting edge manufacturing technology with Foxconn. An example of such technologies is the precision cut aluminum enclosures of the aluminum Macbooks. An investment in Foxconn would suggest that Apple has a desire for being the hardware basis for a lot more devices in a person's life than just a computer or smartphone device. Since the future is an internet of things, the best way to get a foothold in the premium end of the internet of things is to have a solid foothold in the largest and most capable manufacturer of electronic things. On the other hand, Foxconn has a $1.1 trillion market cap, so they could at most purchase a bit less than 10%. A sizable position in Foxconn could also virtually guarantee that Apple is the only company that will have access to manufacturing technology and quality in volume that is always 1-2 generations ahead of its peers. You can't compete with Apple on quality if you can't get access to the hardware manufacturing capabilities until after Apple abandons it and moves onto newer better technologies. It's the equivalent of a hardware checkmate.
- liamk 15y ago
  I'm not sure where you've read that Foxconn has a 1.1 trillion market cap. According to Bloomberg they have a cap of 149.5B [1]. Which makes significantly more sense than Foxconn being worth way more than Apple! [1] http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=2354:TT http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/s...
  - apaprocki 15y ago
    The market cap is in exchange-local currency. 147.76B TWD is about 5B USD.
  - malandrew 15y ago
    Oops. Totally screwed up reading that one. Didn't see that the market cap was local currency denominated. Thanks for the correction.

They are going to buy out foxconn. :P Well maybe not. Then again foxconn is supposed to add 1 million assembly robots. Maybe they will buy out their factories.

malandrew 15y ago

Buying a position in a company like Samsung (solid-state memory or screen tech), Foxconn (manufacturing), LG Display (screen tech) makes sense. Apple is a hardware company, so pretty much all their investments are in hardware or software that increases the value of or margins on their hardware (like chips designers and firms that increase the value of OS X or iOS, which in turn increases the value of Mac and iOS based devices) IMHO Foxconn makes more sense than any other investment because Apple is directly contributing or jointly inventing cutting edge manufacturing technology with Foxconn. An example of such technologies is the precision cut aluminum enclosures of the aluminum Macbooks. An investment in Foxconn would suggest that Apple has a desire for being the hardware basis for a lot more devices in a person's life than just a computer or smartphone device. Since the future is an internet of things, the best way to get a foothold in the premium end of the internet of things is to have a solid foothold in the largest and most capable manufacturer of electronic things. On the other hand, Foxconn has a $1.1 trillion market cap, so they could at most purchase a bit less than 10%. A sizable position in Foxconn could also virtually guarantee that Apple is the only company that will have access to manufacturing technology and quality in volume that is always 1-2 generations ahead of its peers. You can't compete with Apple on quality if you can't get access to the hardware manufacturing capabilities until after Apple abandons it and moves onto newer better technologies. It's the equivalent of a hardware checkmate.

liamk 15y ago
I'm not sure where you've read that Foxconn has a 1.1 trillion market cap. According to Bloomberg they have a cap of 149.5B [1]. Which makes significantly more sense than Foxconn being worth way more than Apple! [1] http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=2354:TT http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/s...
- apaprocki 15y ago
  The market cap is in exchange-local currency. 147.76B TWD is about 5B USD.
- malandrew 15y ago
  Oops. Totally screwed up reading that one. Didn't see that the market cap was local currency denominated. Thanks for the correction.