Iowa has its caucuses; we Fools have ours. In both cases, the people have spoken. Oh, how they've spoken.
Joining Sen. Barack Obama and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee on the winners podium today is ... (rips envelope) ... Apple
What's that? He's attending a "Sprockets" marathon with Saturday Night Live alum Mike Myers? So be it. Congrats, Steve. And congrats, Mac addicts. You win in a blowout. On the last day of last year, Fools pitched 18 stocks as "the one" for 2008. You took your own opinions to Motley Fool CAPS and rated these the top seven, in order:
Top Vote-Getters |
Score |
---|---|
21.5% |
|
8.2% |
|
7.0% |
|
6.8% |
|
6.0% |
|
5.7% |
|
5.4% |
Who's your Mac daddy?
As a longtime Mac user and the Fool who suited up to defend the iEmpire, I'm thrilled with the results. But I'm also not surprised. Apple isn't just a good stock, it's a great company with a very loyal following.
Which, frankly, is a problem.
Even though top-rated stocks can be wonderfully lucrative, loyalty is a troublesome trait when it comes to stock picking. Companies aren't sports teams and shouldn't be treated as such. You think Apple is going to win because the market hasn't fairly valued the impact of the iPhone? Or that retail will continue to boost sales far more than even the most optimistic analysts project? Turns out I agree, and I'm planning to open a position in Apple to take advantage.
Even the losers ...
But the Mac's daddy wasn't the only great business in this contest. Many top-rated stocks were in the race, including Garmin
General Electric
Buffalo Wild Wings
Starbucks
Johnson & Johnson
And, rounding out our top seven is IMAX
Great stocks, all, including those that didn't make our top seven. And yet, for the nearly 80,000-strong Motley Fool CAPS community, Apple is the best of the best. Should it also be the one for your portfolio? That's a question only you can answer, Fool.
Happy 2008!