Piper Jaffrayis Gene Munster attended the Apple Shareholder meeting on Thursday and reported that nothing material came out of the event. However, Apple did share some "incremental tidbits" on products and strategy.
In a report provided to TMO, Mr. Munster cited his key takeaways:
* Stock Split Looking Less Likely In Near Term. We do not expect a stock split in the next several months (previously we were expecting the company would split the stock). Apple may be adopting a more Google-like approach (i.e., not-splitting shares and allowing the stock price to move out of historical ranges).
* iPhone Still Tracking For June. There have been some rumors suggesting that the iPhone could be delayed. CEO Steve Jobs confirmed iPhone will be in the market next month (June).
* Non-AT&T Subscribers Will Need To Move To AT&T On Their Own -- No "Buy-Out" For Buying An iPhone. The company indicated that Apple and/or AT&T will not "buy-out" non-AT&T subscribers that are looking to purchase an iPhone, but are currently tied to a contract with another carrier (this is as expected).
* iTunes Video Rentals? Apple hinted that at some point it will offer video rentals via iTunes. Timing of this is difficult to determine, but we would expect it sometime in CY08.
Mr. Munster did not report on any discussion of environmental issues. That was effectively defused by Mr. Jobs in his recent "A Greener Apple" letter.