It may take a few years but eventually Apple Inc. may become a private company. Apple has a lot of cash, no debt and it is 68% owned by institutions. Those who will own Apple in the future will become major players in a society where digital technology and robot usage are accelerating .
Whatever the company had to gain from its exchange listing has already been gained. A company like Apple with no debt and a lot of cash in the bank has no problem financing its projects. Exchange listing just imposes extra burden on management. At the same time, if major institutional investors believe that a bear market will start after a few years it is better for them to sell now, raise cash and then participate in a offer to privatize the company down the road.
I think if this scenario is highly probable then we may see the stock below $200 and close to $150 in a couple of years. That will be a good time for the buyout and privatization and maybe later several new IPOs of various spin-offs of the company. The future of those who have bought low and sold high is very bright but of those who thought the stock would rise to $1,000 and bought high is very gloomy.
The rush to secure profits in AAPL may continue for some time. Although I dislike long-term forecasts and the probability of the privatization scenario is small at this point, I think it is supported by the ongoing transformation of a world economy where there are two major classes, the owners of technology and the users of technology, or in other words, the rich technology producers and the poor technology users.