Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
M&A Flurry: On Friday, Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook addressed the company’s annual shareholder meeting, discussing a broad range of topics, including Apple’s recent spate of acquisitions, AppleInsider notes. Cook said that Apple has purchased 23 companies over the past 16 months. That would include a variety of technology startups, including app-makers Topsy, Burstly and Locationary. Apple does not normally comment on its corporate acquisitions and Cook did not specify why Apple had selected the companies it had purchased. Cook did, however, say that Apple was not in competition with its technology rivals to buy the most startups or pay the most for them. His remarks appeared to be aimed at Facebook’s (FB) recent $19 billion acquisition of mobile messaging company WhatsApp.
Testy: During his appearance at Apple’s shareholder meeting, Tim Cook had an terse exchange with a conservative group, MacObserver noes. During the question and answer period, a representative from the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) asked Cook if he thought that spending Apple’s money on green-energy projects was a financially smart move. The NCPPR then asked Cook to promise to implement only policies that would boost Apple’s profitability. Cook visibly bristled at the second question, rejecting the idea that everything Apple did should be based on return on investment (ROI) considerations. “When we work on making our devices accessible by the blind,” he responded, “I don’t consider the bloody ROI.” Cook continued:”If you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock.” NCPPR had put forward a formal proposal suggesting a similar policy that received support from just 2.95% if Apple shareholders. Apple has long touted its commitment to advancing green energy solutions, including the use of solar power systems at its data centers across the U.S.
Song Talks: Apple has been meeting with major music labels looking to persuade them to allow more recording artists to release albums directly through iTunes, Billboard notes. Pop singer Beyonce released her latest album exclusively through iTunes for one week last year, ahead of a broader media release. The talks between Apple and the music labels were described as “tense” and come as online music sales have slowed. Last year, digital music track sales fell 5.7% to 1.26 billion downloads. Under Beyonce’s deal, the album was sold as a single download for the week of iTunes-exclusivity. Apple launched its own Internet radio service through iTunes in 2013.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
