More Videos
- iPhone, App Strategy the 'New Dot Com?'
- Cisco Jumps; Rest of Market to Follow?
- Call It 'Microsoft Math'
- Intel in the Anti-Trust Crosshairs, but Why?
- Apple Apps—Now More Than 100K
- WoW Fights New Front in China
- Smart Phone Competition Heats Up. Again.
- A Tale of Two Smart Phone Makers
- Avatar Hype Soars Thanks to Tech
- AMD's Ruiz Gets Tripped by Idle Chit-Chat
MOST SHARED
- Obama Sees Strains Unless US, China Balance Growth
- Future of Marketing
- Priceline Crushes Profit Forecasts; Shares Jump
- Mad Mail: Buy the Berkshire Hathaway Split?
- European Commission Objects to Sun Micro-Oracle Deal
- Can Apple Top Microsoft as Most Valuable Tech Firm?
- Oil Tomorrow
- Framed for Porn – By a PC Virus
- Nov. 9: Unusual Volume Leaders
- Why Google is Paying $750 Million for Ad Mob
- Warren Buffett to Sell Stakes In Union Pacific & Norfolk Southern
- Nov. 9: Unusual Volume Leaders
- The Battered Businesses Behind Housing
- Modern Warfare 2's Record-Breaking Launch
- Merck’s Mega-Monday Morning
- Why are Traders Bullish on This Food Company?
- Profiting From Natural Gas: Strategists
- S&P Stocks Trading at New 52-Week Highs
- GM CEO Starts Opel Charm Tour in Germany
- Look Ahead: 'Risk On' Attitude Could Fuel Rally Further
- European Commission Objects to Sun Micro-Oracle Deal
- Obama Sees Strains Unless US, China Balance Growth
- JPMorgan Lifts Salary Freeze Amid Recovery
- Can Apple Top Microsoft as Most Valuable Tech Firm?
- Do You Know Your Coca-Cola Myths?
- Buffett to Sell Stakes in Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific
- Cramer: 5 Stocks to Play the Next Bull Run
RSS FEED
Tech Check
Text Size 
 |
Apple Store 5th Ave NY |
] and its prospects, both for this quarter and the coming year. The week started with downgrades and pessimism from RBC Capital and Morgan Stanley. But yesterday, in the face of a strong wind against these shares, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs both stepped up to say that Apple's actually in pretty good shape. Maybe lowering price targets, but still bullish on longer-term trends.
It's a matter of perspective and balance and true analysis. And that's where Wall Street might not be measuring up when it comes to studying not just Apple, but indeed so many other companies and their fundamentals. Take, for example, the study released by RBC and ChangeWave, purporting to show a slowdown in Apple's business, and therefore the reason behind the firm's downgrade.
But rather than just offering up the results of the survey, they beg for some deeper perspective. RBC determined that 17 percent of respondents are likely to buy a Mac laptop in the next 90 days, down from 19 percent a month earlier. And 23 percent say they were likely to buy a Mac desktop, down from 24 percent a month earlier. I don't know about you, and I hardly want to be the one trying to accentuate the positive, but it seems those declines are very, VERY slight, and in an economy like this one, a miniscule decline for expensive products in the consumer electronics space might actually be good news.
I understand that Apple's slowdown, if there even is one, isn't great. But if the slowdown--again, if there even IS one--is occurring at a far slower pace than the rest of the sector, isn't that good? Also, it seems none of these analysts is worried about the current quarter, but what may happen some time next year. If at all. If this macro-economic slowdown continues, or deepens. Which Apple has already shown it can withstand better than most.
More galling to me is the underlying concern that Apple won't be able to meet gross margins expectations.. Why galling? Apple expected margins of 30 percent and said so. The Street then ratcheted up its expectations to 33 percent. Apple says 30 percent. Maintains 30 percent. Now, there's concern on the Street that Apple won't meet expectations. Not its own, but the Street's! And analysts slam the company over worries that it will come up short. Come on. What kind of bizarre game is that?
I don't doubt RBC's data, or the real concern the firm apparently has about Apple's future. This firm, and analyst Mike Abramsky, do solid work. There are certainly two sides--maybe 12 or 20 sides--and that's what makes a market.
I know Wall Street has a job to do. So does Apple. Apple routinely sandbags numbers, I believe, to lower expectations so it can "beat the Street" when it releases earnings. They need to do better offering realistic guidance.
But the Street also needs to do a better job managing its own expectations, and offering meaningful analysis of the data, not just the data itself. Both sides of the story.
Apple's volatility, as these two sides bicker about the numbers, has been the end result. With investor nest eggs hanging on the balance.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes