Lately, we’ve been watching Apple falling. Especially their stock, and we can’t help but smile about it. Since we are Google and Android fanboys, it’s kind of hard not to. Last September, Apple’s stock closed at an all-time high of $705.07. That made investors very happy, of course. But since then Apple’s stock has started falling trmendously, which all started in December. We’ve already talked about how Samsung could be experiencing a downfall soon. Which typically happens after a ton of growth, you start to plateau, which is going to happen with these companies.
In addition, long-time markets reporter Jon Friedman penned a recent piece where he explored the very real possibility that Google could be next to see its share price fall on shifting sentiment. Which it really wouldn’t surprise me if this did happen. Here’s what Friedman wrote in a DailyFinance column:
“Without question, Google has now reached a point in its maturation where its shareholders might need to to [sic] worry about what I call The Icarus Effect,”
“The relevant question is this: Is Google’s stock price flying too high now for its own good? Remember, how in the Greek fable, Icarus rose high but ultimately flew too close to the sun. After his wings melted, he fell into the sea.”
Friedman continues to write that Google’s management is widely respected and the company has shown stability in recent years. But he also noted that a stock price can “sometimes seem to operate on a level all its own.” He is warning that while Google’s prospects in mobile remain attractive to investors for the time being, the tide could turn at any moment. As is apparent with Apple’s stock. Or maybe we can just blame that on their inability to innovate and Apple Maps.
Now I talked a bit about Samsung possibly falling soon as well. Our very own Randy Arrowood did a fantastic three part series about their potential downfall earlier this year. Now what made Samsung dominate so much? Well mostly because they build every part of their phone and tablets. They also sell other electronics like laptops and TVs. But once you get to the top, where do you go? Especially with competitors like HTC, Motorola, and Sony vying for your top spot? Samsung hasn’t started to decline yet, and they probably won’t for a few years.
We all remember when Nokia and Blackberry were at the top of the mountain right? In just a few short years, their market share has dropped to what about 2-5% each? That’s just how quickly things move in the wireless and mobile industry. All that needs to happen is a strong push from HTC or some other manufacturer to take a chunk out of Samsung’s market share.
Now do we want Google or Samsung to start to go downhill? Of course not, but it’s good for business and competition for them to go down a little bit. That’ll force more innovation from everyone and it’ll in turn benefit the consumer.