“Dear Steve, Thank You”: Apple Inc. (AAPL)

I want you to know that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock is up from when you left us. You might have been surprised to know that from the day of your death, one year later, Apple’s stock was actually 75% higher without you. At that point — October 2012 — your company had earned the highest capitalization in the history of our U.S. public markets. Since then, a lot of that gain has washed away — and shares are now underperforming the S&P 500 since your death. I want you to know that in contrast perhaps to many, I continue to believe you built a culture and put your company in a position to keep winning. I don’t believe things will slide away from here, and I certainly don’t believe pundits who might say your company is moribund or lost. My money’s where my mouth is. (Sorry I keep talking about the stock market. It’s not my ultimate point, but it’s very often how I see things.)

I wanted to thank you, finally, for the often-quoted Stanford graduation speech you gave in 2005. Your message — timeless and now much watched by millions of people worldwide — was and has always been our message. You put it this way: “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.” When I first watched the YouTube video sent to me in 2005 by an excited Motley Fool member (who said, “Look, Jobs is a Fool, too!”), I couldn’t believe my eyes. Now watching it once again recently, it ages well — the message just keeps getting stronger, and I want you to know we are going to drive a huge wedge of Foolishness into this world before we’re done. Thank you most of all for that.

You would have turned 58 today. You are missed, but like the few great people of every era, your legacy will successively instruct and positively influence millions of people well into the future — it already is.

Thank you, Steve.

Love,
David Gardner

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For those who took time to read my piece, I thank you, fellow Fools, and point you toward Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford graduation speech and a memorable CAPS blog posting titled “Steve Jobs, American Hero.”

The article “Dear Steve, Thank You” originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by David Gardner.

Fool co-founder David Gardner owns shares of Apple and Disney, as does The Motley Fool. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS).

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