苹果要不要买下匈牙利

 　　Yesterday was Apple's shareholder¹ meeting and, as many of you know, there's been healthy debate about what they should do with its $137 billion in cash. I had read somewhere that Apple's cash pile was equivalent to Hungary's GDP so perhaps an activist² shareholder should push an acquisition of Hungary rather than thinking small (e.g., increasing dividends⁴ or issuing preferred stock).

　　上周，苹果公司（Apple）召开了股东大会。正如大家所知，大会对苹果如何使用所持的1,370亿现金展开了积极的讨论。我看到有篇文章说，苹果的现金储备差不多等于整个匈牙利的GDP，所以也许某个激进主义的股东应该推动苹果收购匈牙利，而不是干些小打小闹的事情（比如增加股息，或者发行优先股）。

　　Hungary probably wouldn't sell its sovereignty and entire economy for 1x sales, but Apple (AAPL) has no debt so they could probably lever the deal and borrow money on top of $137 billion in equity⁵. For some reason, the notion of Apple hiking the taxes of Hungary to fund a dividend³ recap just amuses me…

　　匈牙利可能不愿意把主权和整个经济体拱手卖出，不过由于苹果没有债务，匈牙利或许能将这笔交易作为杠杆，在1,370亿美元资本的基础上借贷到更多钱。想到苹果将使匈牙利的税收提高，从而为股息资本重组筹集资金，我就觉得很搞笑……

　　More seriously, what should Apple do with a massive and growing pile of cash? The three obvious buckets are to invest heavily in new products (the Apple TV or iWatch or whatever), return cash to shareholders⁶ (via dividends, buybacks, new class of preferred shares, etc) or acquire stuff. Besides Hungary, what M&A strategies actually make sense?

　　严肃一点说，苹果应该如何处理一大笔不断增加的现金呢？三个显而易见的方案分别是：大量投资新产品（Apple TV、iWatch或者其他产品）、向股东返还现金（通过股息、回购、发布新型优先股等方式）以及招募员工。除去匈牙利之外，还有什么并购方案真的有意义呢？

　　For starters, Apple isn't Cisco (CSCO) or Oracle⁷ (ORCL). Instead, it's an incredible organization because of its long history of internal innovation rather than excellence⁸ in acquiring, integrating and growing other businesses. Over the long arc of time (by tech standards) Apple has done very few acquisitions above$100 million and has never done a billion dollar+ deal. Buying NeXT provided the foundation of what is now the desktop⁹ Mac OS, plus brought Steve Jobs back to the Apple fold. More recently, acquiring Quattro Wireless¹⁰ created the iAds mobile ad network and Siri was a technology acquired from SRI. Less auspiciously¹¹ Apple bought a Swedish mapping technology company (C3) to form the basis of Apple Maps. Lastly Apple has bought several component¹² companies (chip companies Intrinsity and P.A. Semi, flash memory company Anobit, and security hardware – Authentec) to be integrated in various iStuff.

　　首先，苹果不是思科（Cisco）或者甲骨文（Oracle）。相反，这家公司之所以不可思议，是得益于它内部创新的悠久历史，而并不是因为它在收购、整合和培养其他业务方面有出色表现。很长的时间内（按照技术标准），苹果1亿美元以上的收购案例屈指可数，10亿美元以上的收购更是从来没有出现过。通过收购NeXT，苹果建立了如今台式机系统Mac OS的基础，还把史蒂夫?乔布斯请回了苹果。更近一些，苹果收购Quattro Wireless，创造了iAds手机广告网络；而收购SIRI公司则获取了智能语音助手Siri技术。比较不走运的是对一家瑞典地图技术公司（C3）的收购，苹果在此基础上创立了Apple Maps。最后，苹果兼并了几家组件公司（芯片公司Intrinsity和P.A. Semi，闪存公司Anobit，还有安全设备厂商Authentec），将它们整合进了丰富多彩的“i”字辈产品中。

　　Apple is fundamentally great at creating innovative¹³ new platforms that consumers love because they're easy to use and rationalize digital fragmentation. It wasn't the first in PCs, MP3 players, smartphones or even tablets -- yet Apple revolutionized each of those categories. Apple doesn't really make money by selling software or even digital content, but it seamlessly integrates software and content to support a high margin¹⁴ hardware business.

　　苹果在本质上非常擅长打造具有创造力的新平台。它们因为易于使用，让数字生活变得合理，而广受消费者青睐。它并不是第一家跨入PC机、MP3、智能手机甚至平板电脑领域的公司，但它却彻底革新了这些领域。苹果并不真正通过出售软件或数字内容赚钱，但是它无缝集成了软件和数字内容，从而支撑了高利润的硬件业务。

　　But Apple's DNA¹⁵ is about quantum leaps, not incremental¹⁶ ones. So if they were to become an acquisitive company, I'd argue is has to be as big and bold in buying as it is in product innovation. The three main vectors Apple might pursue are:

　　但是苹果骨子里追求的是巨大突破，而不是循序渐进。所以如果他们想要成为一家雄心勃勃的公司，我认为在他们在收购上需要同产品创新一样高瞻远瞩，勇往直前。苹果需要追求的三大主要推动力分别是：

1 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 dividend   

n.红利，股息；回报，效益

参考例句：

• The company was forced to pass its dividend.该公司被迫到期不分红。
• The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.第一季度的股息增长了近 4%。

4 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

5 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

6 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

7 oracle   

n.神谕，神谕处，预言

参考例句：

• In times of difficulty,she pray for an oracle to guide her.在困难的时候，她祈祷神谕来指引她。
• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important.它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。

8 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

9 desktop   

n.桌面管理系统程序；台式

参考例句：

• My computer is a desktop computer of excellent quality.我的计算机是品质卓越的台式计算机。
• Do you know which one is better,a laptop or a desktop?你知道哪一种更好，笔记本还是台式机？

10 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

11 auspiciously   

adv.吉利； 繁荣昌盛； 前途顺利； 吉祥

参考例句：

• He started his new job auspiciously on his birthday. 他在他生日那天找到了新工作，真是幸运。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The year began auspiciously with good trade figures for January. 一月份贸易额可观，今年一开头就前景光明。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

13 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

14 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

15 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

16 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句