Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Apple, Amazon, Yahoo, Disney and Twitter - Press Releases
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL- January 23, 2015 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Features: Apple (AAPL-Free Report), Amazon (AMZN-Free Report), Yahoo (YHOO-Free Report), Disney (DIS-Free Report) and Twitter (TWTR-Free Report).
5 Books Investors Must Read This Year
I often get asked how an investor can find out what is really going on behind closed doors at a company.
A lot of information is available now thanks to the Internet. Investors have access to all the fundamental and charting information they could ever need. They can also listen to conference calls or follow companies on social media.
Using the Zacks Rank, which focuses on earnings estimates, also can give investors an edge in terms of finding quality companies. Stocks with rising earnings estimates have significantly outperformed the S&P 500.
The Zacks Ranks can help you separate the wheat from the chaff.
But what if you want to dig even deeper?
Sometimes the real story of a company isn't in the fundamentals.
To really understand the nucleus of a company, you have to go behind the public relations machine. One of the best ways to do that is through business books.
These books usually tell the story of the heart and soul of a company. They highlight the charismatic CEO or tell the exciting tale of how a company was founded.
Sometimes looking behind closed doors provides confirmation that a company really is a gem. But some authors also explore company dysfunction and what "mistakes" they have made.
Either way, a book can provide insight as to how a company might expand operations and how it will grow revenue.
We all want to know what makes a company special. Why do some have the "magic" and others don't? Business books can help fill in the blanks.
To help you narrow down the books, I've put together a list of the 5 best books every investor should read this year. These are books published within the last 5 years. That doesn't mean some of the older business books aren't also excellent.
But these 5 will give you some insights into companies that are on the investment radar right now.
If you want to understand what is going on behind the walls of these companies, you have to get into the minds of those who work there. These books will take you there.
The 5 Books Every Investor Must Read This Year
1. Steve Jobs
2. The Everything Store
3. Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo
4. Creativity, Inc.
5. Hatching Twitter
1. Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson
Want to know what the future is for Apple (AAPL-Free Report)?
Published in 2011, Steve Jobs, the authorized biography of Steve Jobs, was a best seller for several years, and for good reason. Isaacson interviewed a hundred insiders, and was able to interview Jobs himself dozens of times over the course of several years.
Don't be intimidated by the size of the book. It's well worth the time.
It provides an insider look into how Apple was founded, what went wrong in the 1980s and 1990s when the company nearly went into bankruptcy, and how Jobs came back to the company he founded and led them to even greater successes, including the iPod and the iPhone. Want to know how Apple outmaneuvered its competitors? It's all here.
You might think that because Tim Cook has been CEO of Apple for several years now, that this book is irrelevant for understanding Apple. You would be wrong.
After you read this book, the future of Apple without Steve Jobs will be put in a whole new light.
2. The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon, by Brad Stone
Have you ever wondered why Jeff Bezos isn't on Amazon's (AMZN-Free Report) conference calls?
You can find out why and other cultural tidbits about Bezos and the company he founded that has seemingly transformed retail in this book.
Published in 2013, it will give you insight into the early years of the company when Amazon employees used to pack book orders at the company's headquarters. More importantly, it explores how Amazon went from being a book seller to actually manufacturing the Kindle, the first digital book device.
If you're curious about the future of Amazon, and how it ended up being first in the Cloud, you won't be disappointed by this book.
3. Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo, by Nicholas Carlson
Can Yahoo (YHOO-Free Report) be saved?
In 2012, that was the question on everyone's lips as the company hired then 38-year old Marissa Mayer to turn the ship around.
It's been a couple of years since Marissa Mayer was tapped to rescue a struggling Yahoo so the time is ripe for the first analysis of whether or not she is succeeding. Published this year, this book attempts to tell the story of Mayer's rise and the challenges she's faced at Yahoo.
Mayer had thrived in the male-dominated culture of Google but the spotlight shines bright in Silicon Valley when you're tapped to be CEO.
If you want to know if Yahoo has a future that you should be investing in, this book is a good place to start.
4. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration, by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace
We've gotten so used to the creative genius at Pixar Animation Studios over the years, whether it was from the Toy Story movies or Finding Nemo, that we all take it for granted.
But success didn't come easily at first.
Published in 2014, Catmull is one of the co-founders of Pixar and was there from the very beginning when the struggling company needed an infusion of cash from Steve Jobs in order to stay in business. It's a story of grit and perseverance when the odds were stacked against them.
Considered to be one of the best books ever written discussing creativity in business and how companies can foster creativity among employees, it provides valuable insights into the creative process.
Pixar was sold to Disney (DIS-Free Report) in 2006. For investors, this book provides invaluable insight into how Pixar has been able to maintain its excellence. And while you're reading it, some of the inspiration just might rub off on you.
5. Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship and Betrayal, by Nick Bilton
We've all read stories about how dysfunctional Silicon Valley start-ups can be but nothing comes close to this book for the sheer enjoyment of its portrayal of the jealousies and struggles as Twitter (TWTR-Free Report) rose to prominence.
Published in 2013, this book really goes behind Twitter's carefully crafted facade as the various founders fought for control and money. The story is so juicy, the book has been optioned as a TV series by Lions Gate.
This book will make you wonder what it's like insider Twitter now. You'll never listen to a Twitter quarterly conference call the same again.
[In full disclosure, the author owns shares of AMZN.]
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