Apple takes over a company every three weeks

February 24, 2021, 1:09 pm

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In the past six years, the group has bought a company on average every three weeks. In addition, CEO Tim Cook spoke to shareholders about the pandemic, market dominance and Apple’s perspective.

At the annual meeting with shareholders, which now had to take place virtually, Tim Cook answered questions. He said, for example, that Apple had bought around 100 companies as part of an acquisition offensive. “The focus is on small, innovative companies that complement and drive our products,” he said.

Shareholders voted for a new compensation plan for Apple executives. Should the group achieve certain goals, Cook beckoned about a million fresh shares. He announced an increase in the dividend. After a speech on Apple’s successes in the past fiscal year, such as the record quarter in the Christmas business and the M1 Macs, he answered questions from shareholders.

Antitrust authorities bypassed

Cook said that Apple was not in a dominant position in any market regarding antitrust investigations by the US authorities. “This competitive market is what drives us all to get better,” he said. If a review were fair, such allegations would collapse after a reasonable examination of the facts. Apple is basically only taking over companies that are well below the threshold that regulators take notice. Allegations are therefore primarily concerned with the iPhone manufacturer’s app store monopoly. The EU therefore wants to break the platform exclusivity with its new digital law.

Pandemic and home office

When asked about work during the pandemic, Cook said that it has been mostly remote work for almost a year now. He is sure that it is a huge advantage when teams come together in offices. However, over time, they have found more and better ways to work together across teams. Cook said: “We are developing new skills, capacities and flexibility that will serve us incredibly well in the long term.” The retail teams in the stores have shown themselves to be “innovative, agile and adaptable”. But they look forward to reopening the shops in other places. In summary, he stated: “But a year later I think that you have to stop and say ‘Wow’. The extent to which all of our teams pulled together everywhere, faced the challenge and helped each other – I think you can’t hope for more and you can’t ask for it. “