Friends,
It's estimated that last year alone, Apple's App Store brought in $35 billion in sales.
On one hand, that represents less than 10% of the company's total sales. On the other hand, it is ridiculously high-margin revenue that makes the iPhone very sticky.
Think about it: every time you pay for an app on an iPhone, 30% of that revenue goes straight to Apple. It's an incredible deal for Apple (less so for app developers).
What's more incredible: there was a time when Steve Jobs was decidedly against third-party apps on the iPhone. Back in 2007, no apps developed outside Cupertino were available. Jobs wanted complete control of the device.
It wasn't until later -- after seeing how a different approach was benefitting Android -- that Jobs changed his mind.
That, undoubtedly, was the right decision.
Oftentimes, staying true to one's principles is lauded in our society. In the age of the internet, prominent figures are often derided for "flip-flopping" on their views.
In one light, this stance makes sense. But it's worth considering the other side of the coin.
No one can possibly know everything there is to know in the world. And even if they did, it's impossible to predict the future. New information becomes available every day. If we don't adjust our views based on this information, we're bound to be left behind.
The implications for investing are obvious: the start-ups of the 1990s are today's behemoths; and yeseterday's blue chips have become today's bankruptcy filings.
How can we navigate a world like this? We think John Maynard Keynes put it best:
"When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?"
Wishing you continued investing success,
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Brian Feroldi, Brian Stoffel, & Brian Withers
Long Term Mindset
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P.S. Shout out to our friend Emily Flippen for bringing today's tidbit about U.S. Consumer spending to our attention. Find a cool article? Reply to this email and let us know.
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