US Edition 
Apple losing innovative edge, three in four investors say
Apple has lost its edge among investors, according to a poll of financial experts.
Hedge funds sold large stakes of the iPhone maker’s stock in the first quarter, Apple shares are down 40 per cent from last year’s high and the company paid higher interest rates for a recent bond sale than Microsoft.
Now, 71 per cent of poll respondents say the tech giant has lost its cachet as an industry innovator, though 43 per cent say this may be a temporary hiccup.
There are still true believers: 23 per cent said Apple remains the foremost company in the world of technology.
Apple fared worse among non-U.S. investors, with 74 per cent of European respondents and 83 per cent of those in Asia saying Apple has lost its cachet as an innovator. In the U.S., 63 per cent agreed the company has either permanently or temporarily lost its way.
“They’ve definitely lost their momentum,” said Lionel Mellul, head of the cash equity business at Sunrise Brokers in New York, a poll respondent. “It’s still at the point where they might turn things around. They still have a strong brand.”
Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said the company won’t introduce a product to add to its innovations — the iPod, iTunes, the iPhone and iPad — until autumn in the US, one of Apple’s longest stretches without a fresh gadget since at least 2000.
Apple remains the most profitable technology company, generating $41.7 (£27.4bn) billion last year.
In the global handset business, the iPhone accounts for 57 per cent of the industry’s profits, according to Canaccord Genuity.
Many of Apple’s major products are facing increased competition from Samsung’s top-selling Galaxy phones, Amazon’s Kindle tablet reader and Spotify’s music service.
“Apple is innovating around the same things which, in my mind, is not really innovating,” said Gala Prada, head of pension funds and portfolio manager for Fiatc Seguros in Barcelona, who answered the poll. “There are companies like Samsung — which are taking the lead right now innovating in all kinds of consumer and electronics products — which also make Apple, on a relative basis, look a little bit behind,” Prada said.