Famously, Apple was the stock everyone expected to fail, for over a decade. You couldn't short them because they kept not dying. You couldn't buy'm because the

Famously, Apple was the stock everyone expected to fail, for over a decade. You couldn't short them because they kept not dying. You couldn't buy'm because they kept not making money. IMO, Apple was only able to stay alive because Microsoft invested so heavily in them. Microsoft was worried about being seen as a monopoly, so investing in Apple ensured that Microsoft could both /not/ be a monopoly but also benefit no matter how well Apple did. IIRC they sold their stake after the iPod was released and Apple was back on its feet.