Apple Shareholder Meeting (2010)

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) held its annual shareholder meeting in Cupertino, California on February 25, 2010. Apple offered shareholders only coffee, tea, and water. Steve Jobs attended the meeting in his trademark jeans (with holes in the right knee area) and black turtleneck. Although he looked noticeably thinner than two years ago, he appeared healthy. Al Gore also attended the meeting, and he looked like he was in great shape (unlike previous years, where he appeared to be a tad overweight--perhaps recent Democratic victories have improved his health).

Much of the meeting focused on environmental issues. One person argued that if the science is right, then nothing else matters, and Apple needed to be more environmentally-conscious. Another shareholder summed up the issue by saying, "Pollution is waste, waste is inefficiency--it's as simple as that."

During the Q&A session, a shareholder mentioned Apple's $40 billion in cash, and asked whether Apple would issue a dividend. Mr. Jobs said that the cash provided security and flexibility, and Apple could take risks knowing that "the ground is always there if we miss." Mr. Jobs also implied that the stock price would stagnate if Apple issued a dividend.

Someone else mentioned that Nintendo was doing very well with its Wii and asked if Apple would consider a strategic alliance with Nintendo. Mr. Jobs said that such alliances take a lot of work, and Apple would need a big payoff to consider a strategic alliance.

I was tired of the environment-related questions. I explained that business-wise, it doesn't matter whether the science is right or wrong, only whether a majority of the American public believes that environmental issues are important. If the majority of Americans feel strongly about environmental issues, they will petition Congress or state legislatures to pass more stringent laws mandating certain corporate behavior. However, if Apple at least projects an image of being socially conscious, it will help stave off stringent legislation that might harm the company. In short, being ahead of the curve on environmental issues allows Apple to increase its chances of saving shareholders from potentially harmful and costly legislation. (It also makes little sense to criticize Al Gore whenever the Democrats control Congress, because Mr. Gore's presumed access to Democratic legislators allows him to provide input into legislation affecting Apple.)

Mr. Jobs responded by saying that it was even more simple--being environmentally-conscious "is the right thing to do." He then made several comments showing that Apple sincerely believed in environmental issues not just as a business issue, but as a philosophical issue.

I also asked what challenges Mr. Jobs saw for Apple, i.e., what keeps you up at night? Mr. Jobs first joked, "Shareholder meetings," but then became more serious. He said he was concerned about the overall economy, because if people were concerned about buying textbooks or putting their kids through school, then it would be more difficult for Apple to sell its products.

Overall, the meeting went well. Mr. Jobs was more pro-active in cutting off shareholders who would ramble on, but otherwise, it was a typical Apple meeting--people came to see Mr. Jobs and to get a piece of the Apple mystique.

Bonus: Mark Duncan has been a marketing consultant at askmar (www.askmar.com) for over 25 years, focusing on helping early stage start-ups develop traction in their marketplace. Mr. Duncan's thorough notes on the shareholder meeting are below:

* The meeting started at 10 AM, the formal meeting ending at 9:25 AM. At that point, Steve Jobs took questions and answers to about 10:20 AM.

* Apple wants to do the right thing. We have reduced the size of our packaging because it benefits us both from an environmental and business standpoint. People are noticing, our reputation is pretty good. Can it be better? Yes, but we’re working on it. Our recycling rates are phenomenal.

* What is Apple afraid about most, what keeps you up at night? Fundamentally, we require stability in the world. People aren’t going to buy our products unless they can put food on the table and afford school. We are affected by things beyond our control. Accordingly, we try to do the best we can.

* Why not issue a stock dividend? It is part security and flexibility. It nice to know when you jump that the ground will still be there if we miss. Also, we never know what opportunities are out there. Sometimes you need to think big and pretty large. When you want to do something big and bold, it is nice to be able to write out a check and not have to borrow a lot of money. Our judgment and instinct is to keep out powder dry. Quite frankly, if we issued dividends or did a stock buyback, our stock price would still be in the same place. What really drives our stock price is our ability to grow and keep up with new products that everyone wants.

* Internationally, we opened our first store in China, and have 25 more stores planned for China over the next year.

* [On environmental issues.] We are more interested in walking the talk, than talking the talk. Lots of companies set goals and attend conferences, than don’t actually meet their goals. We are the first and only company to actually do something about it. Dell challenged us on our green statements to the Truth in Advertising board, which found that we were correct [in our claims]. We have audited 100 of our suppliers, and over half of them told us that they had never been audited before. We do it because it is the right thing to do.

* With respect to usability and accessibility. We have the most accessible products in production available today, with a few hundred million passionate users. I personally receive 6 to 12 emails each week about accessibility.

* When I run across a security problem, it would be nice to have a way to email Apple regarding the threat. We will look at providing an email for this purpose.

* Will the increased emphasis on mobile products result in a decrease in traditional Mac products? First, we have decreased our app approval time from 2 to 3 weeks to one week. Our customers are buying mostly laptops, followed by iMacs, Mac Minis, and towers. We listen to our customers. We love the iMac, we think it is the best product of its type in the world.

* Apple has no retail stores in Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota. Would like to see more theaters in stores. It is hard to do this [take Apple classes?] in smaller stores, particularly with the higher noise levels.

* Apple ads are primarily targeted at the young and hip. Yet the products have a tremendous appeal to middle aged and older people. Jobs noted that often older people like to think of themselves as young and hip!

Update: other reviews of the meeting are HERE and HERE.

Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Speech

Small Things (a poem)

Small Things

Swine flu is in the air.
CNN promises not to fear-monger as the word “pandemic”
flashes across the screen.
I think of the Mexican peso first, then of the Mexican people dying.
It occurs to me my priorities are screwed up.

But then I realize that’s the point--the constant scramble
to survive
to make money
to take care of your family,
It re-arranges everyone’s priorities,
forces people to think ahead, not backwards,
and it seems to work, until it doesn’t.

President Obama’s on the screen now,
talking about that flu again.
I think of the Mexican people first this time.
I think about the American schools shutting down,
and American kids happy to stay home.
I think of how a small thing can multiply into a big thing
and make its way up here without warning.

And then I realize a good thing can also multiply
And come here,
Something we’d never thought about before
until it came here
and changed our lives.

Small things, like six-year old Pierre Omidyar,
arriving in America from France,
his parents from Iran,
Not knowing their little boy would create eBay.

Small things, like Paul and Clara Jobs
adopting a little half-Syrian boy
born in Milwaukee
and bringing him to Mountain View, California,
where he would grow up and give us Apple Computers.

Smaller things, too, like 27 dollars loaned by a man in Bangladesh
who spoke at Stanford in 2003
and caught the ears of Matt and Jessica Flannery,
who then founded Kiva.org.
Soon came millions of dollars to help the poor.

Small things become big when they cross borders
undeterred by risk, failure, or fear.
They come, these small things,
flu particles, yes, but also the seeds of a bright future,
Burrowing their way forward.

(2009)

Apple's Annual Shareholder Meeting (2009)

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) held its 2009 annual shareholder meeting on February 25, 2009. The meeting took place at Apple's Cupertino, CA headquarters. The majority of shareholder attendees appeared to be 45+ years old (the sea of white hair in the room was noticeable). Apple sometimes offers some food on the second floor, but this year, only coffee and tea were available. I noticed an inspiring mural above the coffee canisters titled, "To the crazy ones." The full text is below, and it complemented pictures of famous non-conformists, including Muhammad Ali, Cesar Chavez, and John Lennon (I did not recognize the man on the top upper left hand side--if anyone knows who he is, please add a comment).

Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits. The rebels.
The troublemakers. The round
pegs in the square holes - the
ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules and
they have no respect for
the status quo. You can praise
them, disagree with them,
quote them, disbelieve them,
glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing that you
can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.

- Jack Kerouac
quoted in an Apple Computer Ad, 1997
(search youtube.com to see the ad)

It's the perfect way to summarize Apple's image, isn't it? Unfortunately, this year's meeting was uneventful due to the absence of Steve Jobs. The only other "celebrity," Al Gore--who is on Apple's board of directors--appeared again this year and was noticeably more trim. After Apple's general counsel, Dan Cooperman, concluded the formal part of the meeting, COO Tim Cook made a short presentation. Tim Cook appeared in jeans and a black collared shirt. If memory serves me well, Steve Jobs appeared in a black turtleneck and jeans last year. Mr. Cook appeared to be doing his best to mimic Steve Jobs, even using some of his mannerisms. Overall, Mr. Cook did a good job, but unconsciously or not, he's trying to copy Steve Jobs. It won't work--no one has Mr. Jobs' charisma, so Mr. Cook eventually needs to find his own style.

Before the Q&A session began, Mr. Cook emphasized some sales results. He said Apple had sold 55 million iPods in 2008. Apple had also sold 13.7 million iPhones in 2008, surpassing its goal of selling 10 million. Meanwhile, iTunes was a raging success--Mr. Cook noted that Apple was the #1 music reseller, asking "Do you know who number two is? Wal-Mart! Can you believe that Apple sold more of something than Wal-Mart?"

The Q&A session itself was disappointing. After another shareholder called everyone socialists for advancing health care and environmental proposals, the running joke was "socialism." People jokingly said they were not socialists, used the word "socialist" whenever possible, and Mr. Cook opened the floor to questions from "conservatives and socialists alike." In any case, here is a short summary of the Q&A session:

1. Apple has "no comment" on the SEC investigation relating to Steve Jobs' health and a possible late disclosure of his health. (By the way, I am surprised Apple's lawyers don't cite the California Constitution and its right to privacy whenever this issue comes up--yes, an individual's health is important to a company, but it's also a private matter, and forcing a corporate officer to provide updates about his health would seem to violate the California Constitution. I realize the SEC is a federal agency and therefore not obligated to follow state law, but I don't see a direct conflict here--California's right to privacy is an extension of the federal right to privacy found in the U.S. Constitution.)

2. In the most lighthearted moment, an Apple shareholder asked everyone to stand up and sing Happy Birthday to Steve Jobs, whose birthday was yesterday. Most shareholders complied and delivered a rousing birthday song to Mr. Jobs. (You can't understand how devoted Apple shareholders are to Steve Jobs until you see the love in person--even when he's not there, shareholders make a point to include him.)

3. Another shareholder questioned Apple's diversity efforts. Its board of directors appears to be almost all Caucasian. (Apple does have an Iranian/Persian officer, Sina Tamaddon, as well as board member Andrea Jung of Avon Products, Inc., but like most companies, could use more diversity in its upper ranks.)

4. Another shareholder questioned why Apple pulled out of MacWorld. Mr. Cook responded that it had "other ways to reach many more customers."

5. A shareholder brought up Apple's advertising on risque shows, such as Two and Half Men. I thought the shareholder's comments backfired--she made explicit sexual references from the show, which must have been embarrassing, and probably got more people to become interested in watching Two and a Half Men.

The most interesting substantive issue was Apple's refusal to implement a shareholder proposal that passed last year. (This year, other than the re-election of directors, all shareholder proposals failed to pass.) Last year's successful proposal related to "Say on Pay" and executive compensation. I was very surprised to learn that when it comes to shareholder proposals, Apple operates like the Electoral College--a majority vote isn't enough to actually win. This was made all the more ironic by the presence of former presidential candidate Al Gore. It appears Apple is an iconoclast in every sense of the word--even when it means ignoring successful shareholder proposals. This seeming rebuke to shareholders won't dampen Apple's base, though. As long as Steve Jobs is around somewhere, shareholders will come to the Apple temple every year to engage in their own version of honoring their esteemed leader.

FYI: I was quoted briefly in this Reuters article:

http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2009/02/26/apple-annual-meeting-proves-entertaining/

In case you're interested in another perspective, here is a shareholder meeting review I found to be accurate (except for the spelling of (Shelton) "Ehrlich"):

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/02/25/apple_shareholder_meeting_dominated_by_politics.html

Disclosure: I own an insignificant number of Apple (AAPL) shares.

2008 Apple Annual Shareholders' Meeting

I always enjoy attending Apple's shareholder meetings. Apple's meetings are like no other company's annual meetings, except for possibly Berkshire Hathaway. People today who asked questions traveled from Wyoming, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. I asked a question about Adobe's relationship with Apple and why the iPhone was incompatible with Adobe's flash technology. Steve Jobs responded that the Adobe flash was too slow to be used in the iPhone, and thus far, no one had developed a similar technology that could be applied to smaller devices such as the iPhone that did not suffer from a loss of speed. He reiterated that Apple used Adobe extensively in its Macs and that the relationship was fine, and the iPhone issue was not an Adobe-specific issue because no company had the necessary technology.

Apple's meetings are fun because people feel comfortable enough to make comments as well as questions. Today, an older shareholder mentioned that last year he came with a tie, and this year, he had learned not to let his "generational handicap" get in the way and came tie-less (I actually wore a tie but was the only person I saw wearing one). Others asked specific questions about technology. What makes Steve Jobs so special is that he seems to know all of the features and quirks of his products, even to the most minute detail. As a result, Apple attracts a lot of smart shareholders who love the technology and can't wait to ask Mr. Jobs questions.

Apple's board of directors included Al Gore, who attended today. When he entered the room, most people started clapping. He has gained some weight and looks like a football linebacker--big, with a presence.

One shareholder proposal on executive compensation actually passed, causing Mr. Jobs to crack, "I hope you can help me with my one dollar annual salary." Comments like these make Mr. Jobs a joy to watch--even when he loses something, he still lets you know he's right, and he's on top of the matter. In someone less charismatic and prepared, this attitude would be insufferable. But Steve Jobs, in creating a viable competitor to Microsoft, has the allegiance of all the "Macheads," who view him as a genius sent from the tech heavens. In fact, almost every year, someone inquires about what will happen to Apple if he leaves or "gets hit by a bus."

At the end of the meeting, I went to shake Steve Jobs' hand. He is a wiry fellow, much trimmer than he looks on television. Immediately after the meeting, he went in a corner to talk with Eric Schmidt of Google before coming down to chat with the shareholders. Perhaps he was talking about a new Google-Apple product. With Steve Jobs, you always wonder what the next big thing is going to be, and that's the wonder of being an Apple shareholder and user.