On Friday’s Mac OS Ken, we heard word of an interview between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Susan Li of Fox Business. Snippets of that interview were released on Thursday. That’s when we heard Cook say that he thought China was getting the Coronavirus “under control…” Now the site Apple Must has a full read on the interview.
Thursday’s clips didn’t mention other locations, but the full interview - aired Friday - did acknowledge the growing number of cases in South Korea and Italy. Asked whether Apple would be moving more production out of China, Cook seemed to say no. Though he acknowledged how much could be saved by moving manufacturing to countries like Vietnam or Cambodia, he says the same quality of work can’t be found such places.
As for the beating Apple’s taken in the market and the beatings the markets have taken as a whole, Cook says he doesn’t focus on the “short term gyrations of the market.” He and Apple look long term. Long term, Apple looks the same to him as it did four weeks ago. Eventually, he thinks the market will recognize that and come back around. “…for me,” said Cook, “I look through that, look through the noise and — and concentrate on the future. And the future looks very bright.”
While Cook may not focus on “short term gyrations of the market,” he’s not ignorant of them. Asked by Li whether Apple would be buying back its own shares on the current weakness, Cook acknowledged that the company is a buyer. Quoting the CEO:
I don’t want to announce anything on the air, but we — everybody knows that we’re buying — we’re buying shares and if the stock is lower, you buy more shares for the same amount of money…
A number of other topics were hit by the CEO, including Apple’s prospects in India, Cook’s dealings with the Trump administration, and more. Click here to watch the full interview.
