Apple held its annual shareholding meeting Tuesday during which the company’s board of directors was re-elected and executive pay approved, CNBC reported. Perhaps the most interesting thing to come out of the meeting though was CEO Tim Cook’s comments about the firm’s acquisition strategy.
Apple Has Acquired 100 Firms in Last Six Years, Tim Cook Tells Shareholders
Apple has acquired 100 companies over the last six years, Mr. Cook revealed. That’s about one acquisition every three to four weeks. He said these deals are made with the intention of bringing both technology and talent to Apple, BBC News reported. The most notable of the acquisitions in that time frame was probably Shazam for U.S.$400 million in 2018. In March 2020, Apple purchased the weather app Dark Sky, which has contributed to new features in iOS 14.4. However, the comments highlighted that Apple regularly buys smaller firms too in deals not made so public.
Mr. Cook also focussed on how Apple had navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. “A year later, you have to pause, and say wow,” he said. The CEO also hit back when questioned about antitrust accusations against the App Store, commenting:
While scrutiny is always fair, accusations like these fall apart on a reasonable examination of the facts.