Over the past six years, the group has bought a company on average every three weeks. In addition, CEO Tim Cook spoke to shareholders about the pandemic, market dominance and Apple’s perspective.

At the annual meeting with shareholders, which now had to take place virtually, Tim Cook had questions and answers. He said, for example, that Apple had bought around 100 companies as part of an acquisition offensive. “The focus is on small, innovative companies that complement and drive our products,” he said.

Shareholders voted in favor of a new compensation plan for Apple executives. Should the group achieve certain goals, Cook beckoned about a million fresh shares. He announced an increase in the dividend. After a speech about Apple’s successes in the past fiscal year, such as the record quarter in Christmas business and the M1 Macs, he answered questions from shareholders.

bypassing antitrust authorities

Cook stated that Apple did not have a dominant position in any market in relation to antitrust investigations by the US authorities. “This competitive market is what drives us all to get better,” he said. If a review were fair, such allegations would collapse after a reasonable examination of the facts. Apple is basically only taking over companies that are well below the threshold that regulators take notice. Allegations are therefore primarily concerned with the iPhone manufacturer’s app store monopoly. The EU therefore wants to break the platform exclusivity with its new digital law.

Pandemic and home office

When asked about work during the pandemic, Cook said that it has been mostly remote work for almost a year now. He is sure that it is a huge advantage when teams come together in offices. However, over time, they have found more and better ways to work together across teams. Cook said: “We are developing new skills, capacities and flexibility that will serve us incredibly well in the long term.” The retail teams in the stores have shown themselves to be “innovative, agile and adaptable”. But they look forward to reopening the shops in other places. In summary, he stated: “But a year later I think that you have to stop and say ‘Wow’. The extent to which all of our teams pulled together everywhere, faced the challenge and helped each other – I think you can’t hope for more and you can’t ask for it. “

The challenges for 2021

Cook also said : “I don’t see obstacles so much as opportunities. Make no mistake, these are opportunities that we as a company have to use creatively, intelligently and conscientiously. We don’t take them for granted. We’re really excited about them. ”He believes Apple has never had a better selection of products with greater future potential than it does today. Cook concluded by saying, “After the year we have all been through, I am very optimistic about the future. As always, all of us at Apple are thinking deeply about how we can help our communities emerge stronger from this situation. How the recovery from it can be fair and equitable, and how all of this can be supported by world-class technology that puts humanity first. “

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