Insanely Fickle
January 23rd, 2008
Apple Posted record profits and market share gain. Still, the company says, we might see a bit of a slowdown because of the economy next quarter.
Apple shares plummet $20, or about 12%, within five minutes in after-hours trading, for an overall drop of $60 or 30% from a month ago. Why? “Earnings failed to top the most optimistic of analysts’ estimates.” Yes, but they exceeded the average estimates. And the outlook for the next quarter is still for good profits, Apple is just being prudent and conservative–good business sense that should bolster confidence in the company.
I suppose this is no less crazy than Apple’s meteoric stock rise over the past few years, but it’s still crazy.
Microsoft used to play this game in the 90s until the market caught on to it.