Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has gotten a lot of flak for no longer growing as quickly as investors would like. One such investors suggested that the company might be able to increase profits by cutting its environmental initiatives, but CEO Tim Cook wouldn’t have it. In fact, he said investors who only care about profits should dump Apple stock.
Apple continues environmentally conscious initiatives
Mashable reports that the comments about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stopping its environmentally initiatives came from the National Center for Public Policy Research, which is a conservative think tank. They wanted Cook and Apple to stop pursuing environmental initiatives which wouldn’t have an effect on the company’s bottom line.
Cook said that they do “a lot of things for reasons beside profit motive” and that they “want to leave the world better” than they found it. In fact, he said that any investors who care more about profits than principle should “get out of the [Apple’s] stock.”
At this point more than 75% of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s global facilities run on sustainable energy like solar, hydro, geothermal or wind power. That’s compared to just 25% when Steve Jobs was at the helm of the technology giant.
Apple earns “most coveted smartphone” name
So it looks like Cook is beginning to leave the mild-mannered CEO image many have of him and instead focus on what’s right for the company. And Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has enough backing on Wall Street and enough cash in its pockets that it doesn’t need to cater to a few naysayers. The statistics show that its brand is strong, which indicates that the principles Apple has been following have been good for its image.
The Telegraph reports that a new survey which covers consumers in the developing countries of Vietnam, Nigeria, India, China and Brazil found that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices are the most coveted. In the survey of 4,500 people, 32% of them said they wanted an Apple device. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) was close on Apple’s heels though, with 29%. Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) was in third place with 12%.
Of course one problem Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) faces in developing countries is the fact that its devices are so much more expensive than Android devices. As a result, while people may covet the Apple brand, they might not be able to afford to buy it, leaving Apple devices as more of a wish than a reality.
