And when we come across a "Lisa," we'll warn you away. When our research uncovers an "iPod," we'll tell you about it. We're serious investors here, and we research our picks thoroughly, basing our decisions on a marriage of hard facts to probable outcomes, striving to find the winners. You see, rule-breaking investing isn't an exact science, but neither is it gambling on "moon rockets." We don't just drive down to Vegas, throw all our money onto the roulette table, and let it ride on lucky 7. How do we do it? How can individual investors, lacking the legions of analysts of an investment bank like Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC), look at an upstart company and conclude: "Yes, this one is going to make it"? It's not as hard as it might sound - but it does help to know what you're looking for. At Motley Fool Rule Breakers - where we evaluate and track the prospects of the world's most visionary businesses - we're aiming to pinpoint these winners in a world of also-rans. ![]() And a select few will one day become the corporate equivalents of iPods - "must-have" stocks that generate outsize profits and exceptional investment returns for their owners. Sure, many "Apples" turn out to be Lisas in disguise. Even if, after decades of failure, they ultimately do succeed - by then, their original shareholders have long departed.įortunately, not all the dreamers of the business world underperform as investments. That's the tragedy of bleeding-edge companies like the Apple of old. Consider the likelihood that, around about 1998, you'd have run out of patience with Apple and finally dumped it for no gain - to invest the proceeds in the stock of the hour: Enron. Consider how incredible the temptation must have been to dump this "dog of a stock" after watching it underperform the S&P through six years of the '90s roaring bull market. That's right, after 25 years of enduring near-heart attacks over the company's nosebleed rushes into the stratosphere, followed by harrowing dives into the depths, you'd have barely matched the performance of the plodding S&P.Īs if that weren't depressing enough, chances are you wouldn't have even tied Dufus. And second, if you had invested $1,000 in Apple at its 1980 IPO, and on the same day your brother-in-law, Dufus McBoring, had invested an equal sum in an S&P 500 index fund, today you'd both have achieved about the same returns. First, Apple's stock has rocketed nearly straight up over the past six months. Take a look at this chart comparing the performance of Apple Computer to the S&P from Apple's first day of trading through the end of 2004, and you'll notice two things. Such companies, armed with leading-edge technology but failing to produce commensurate profits, get tagged with the moniker "bleeding edge." The pre-iPod Apple was one such bleeder. ![]() Veteran investors have a special term for companies that boast whiz-bang technology - but kerplunk! profits. ![]() Despite a series of business missteps, Apple won the battle for the hearts and minds of its fans - but it lost the war for marketplace dominance. The best games always seemed to be written for IBM, or to come out first in IBM-playable format. But for many reasons, the things just didn't sell. ![]() Apple always produced machines far superior to its IBM-based rivals. My third computer was a Macintosh.īut I'm typing this column on what, in the dusty tomes of PC history, was once described as an "IBM clone." And to be honest, I haven't touched an Apple-brand computer in close to a decade. My second was an Apple IIc clone (made in Hong Kong). My first PC, bought in 1981, was an Apple II+. Unleash deadly combos with your teammate and take advantage of the environment to bring down your opponents.And Apple Computers (NASDAQ:AAPL). Select a fighter from a large cast of unique characters that suit your fighting style and upgrade their weapons and skills to dominate the battle ground. Gang up and wreak havoc on your enemies in Bleeding Edge for Xbox One.
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