Apple’s chief executive may have wiggle room to get back in the president’s good graces. It starts with the iPhone.
How Apple could placate Trump
The long weekend was dominated by whispers of the growing public fissure between President Trump and Tim Cook. The Apple chief, who seemed to have mastered how to stay in the president’s graces for years, had become a target.
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump declared on social media last week.
The question echoing through Silicon Valley, Wall Street and Washington is simple: What’s the off-ramp? How can Cook avoid a full-blown battle that could cost Apple hundreds of billions of dollars in market value and wreak havoc on its finely tuned global supply chain?
I spent the past couple of days talking to industry executives, analysts and investors. Here are several ways Apple could placate Trump without fully upending its business.
First, a caveat: Moving iPhone production to the U.S. quickly — as in, within the next several years — is nearly impossible. Analysts estimate that could increase the price of an iPhone to $3,500, making them prohibitively expensive and most likely harming the company and its shareholders.
This isn’t just about a few wealthy investors, either. Apple is one of the most widely held stocks in the world. Over 7,600 institutional owners, including virtually every major mutual fund and E.T.F., own Apple shares.