Yesterday it happened for the first time in Apple Park, annual shareholders meeting The vote of the company's board of directors (James Bell, Tim Cook, Al Gore, Bob Iger, Andrea Jung, Art Levinson, Ron Sugar and Sue Wagner) took place without any surprise, but that does not mean that interesting information has not shared at the event.
Let's go to the highlights?
Although the vote went as planned and the board was re-elected, one of the shareholders decided to abstain from the vote to protest Apple's current software policy. According to reports, the shareholder is upset about the retirement of Aperture (in 2015!); he is also still using iOS 9 and said that Apple is "losing hand with hardworking people".
Other shareholders questioned the company for having only two women on its board, about the qualifications of some members (including asking for more information about them), etc. After the re-election of the board, other points were also approved (appointment of Ernst & Young as an independent public accounting company for 2018, advisory resolution to approve executive compensation, among others).
As we have already commented here on the website, shareholders have also asked Apple to create a human rights committee that will, in part, study the addiction of children on iPhones. Apple said that its audit committee already takes care of such matters (that is, it also functions as a human rights committee), but shareholders want the proposed committee to do even more than the existing audit committee. Regardless of the creation or not of the committee, Apple has already commented on the news related to parental control that will come to iOS at some point.
During the event, Cook mentioned that the satisfaction rate of the iPhone X is 99%, reiterated the information that the device has surpassed other models of the company in sales since it was launched, that the company already has almost 1 billion subscribers (services overall, including Apple Music and iCloud) and that your category wearables (wearable, which includes Apple Watch, AirPods and Beats headphones) is approaching the size of a company listed on Fortune 300 a year ago, Cook had commented that the category was comparable to a company listed on Fortune 500.
Some data released at the last Apple financial event were also reinforced yesterday, such as the information that 19 companies were acquired in 2017, which invested US $ 12 billion in research and development last year, which today has about 123 thousand full-time employees and that it plans to hire another 20,000 by the end of the year.
A subject hitherto barely commented on by the Apple CEO was addressed at the event: success. In a recent interview, Cook said that his role as CEO of Ma is to prepare as many people as possible so that they can become the next to hold that position, but that it is the final decision of the board. Now, at the shareholders' meeting, Cook said that the company already has candidates ready to take over, if necessary remembering that the board may well choose to bring in someone from outside.
Angela Ahrendts, one of the listed companies to succeed Tim Cook as Apple CEORegarding the recent temporary removal of Telegram apps from the App Store, Cook said the company "has always cured its properties", leaving questionable content like pornography, terrorism and others out of the store.
Speaking about Apple Pay, which will arrive in Brazil soon, the executive said that the service did not replace the money as aggressively as he imagined a few years ago, but that adoption is increasing, especially outside the United States. Still, he believes that seeing this (the replacement of the real wallet with the digital one) is happening.
Regarding health / technology, Cook said he believes the company can make a big contribution in this area because it is not focused on being reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid, which is not always the best for the patient.
Ma's boss was also asked about special dividends, but said he was not a big fan of the idea, stating that Apple is committed to increasing dividends every year and that more information about the capital return program will be provided to shareholders. in April.
Regarding the company's retail stores, Cook said that Apple does not believe that they will disappear: "We believe that interaction with people is still the best solution," he said.
With the opening of the Apple Park, which is showing itself closer and closer to the end of the works, a shareholder decided to ask if the company will not open the “spaceship” itself for tours / visits. Cook was emphatic in saying no. He recalled that the Visitor Center is just that and that there is a lot of confidentiality in the main building: “Keeping things confidential is the bane of my existence now.”
Apple Park Visitor CenterSpeaking of confidential, it seems that Apple no longer wants even drones to make their traditional flights over the “spaceship” something that we had already glimpsed a few months ago. Proof of this is that, during the annual shareholders' meeting, there were digital signs stating that Apple's headquarters was a no-fly zone.
As usual, no bombshell information or the like came up at Apple's annual shareholders' meeting. Still, it is still interesting to catch some things from the event.
via 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Cult of Mac
