Tech

'Nobody has built a money-printing machine like Apple,' VC Jason Calacanis says

Key Points
  • Top investor Jason Calacanis said Apple has continued to defy predictions about product cycles and margins.
  • He said it was "confounding" that Apple hadn't heavily invested in mergers and acquisitions, given its cash position.
Nobody has built a money-printing machine like Apple: Jason Calacanis
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Nobody has built a money-printing machine like Apple: Jason Calacanis

Apple is on a bit of a spending spree this week, but there's no doubt it can afford it.

"Nobody has built a money-printing machine like Apple," top investor Jason Calacanis told CNBC's "Squawk Alley" Wednesday. "And it's something to be lauded and appreciated."

Calacanis said the company has continued to defy predictions about product cycles and margins. The company's 10th anniversary iPhone X costs more than $1,000 — yet users continue to buy it, he said.

"The end of the iPhone is something that we've all been predicting, and the end of the iPhone profit machine is something we've all been wondering when that's going to end — and it hasn't," Calacanis said.

He said it was "confounding" that Apple hadn't heavily invested in mergers and acquisitions, given its cash position — but the tide may be turning on that front.

Apple this week announced the acquisition of music recognition app Shazam for an estimated $400 million.

The company separately announced Wednesday a $390 million investment in laser chip maker Finisar, making it a pricey week for the company that, as Calacanis suggested, only has more money to make.