I've been an Apple (AAPL) products user for a very long time. Ever since Steve Jobs passed away, the quality of their products and service has significantly declined. I find it a bit hilarious that some people are just now talking about the poor quality after years of failed software updates and other problems. I'm not sure why they chose to speak out now, maybe they want to bring the stock price down so that they can buy in at a lower level, giving themselves more profits? But anyway, yeah, these problems are not news to anyone who owns an Apple device. It is sad to see a company that was overseen with such attention to detail in the past, now become a big sack of low-quality memories. With the amount of power and money they have though, they'll likely still be around for a long time. Whether or not to invest, is up to you. The stock market is all based on perception, today's perception is that of fear for the future of the company, what will tomorrow's shiny new distraction be? ______________ Note: the author holds no positions in APPL, directly or indirectly. … [Read more...]
Why Apple Stock Fell This Morning
Just a brief note on this topic. I just read an article by the "Wall Street Journal" stating that multiple analysts had no idea why Apple (AAPL) stock fell this morning. Well, maybe they don't read the papers. Last night it was widely reported that orders for Google's (GOOGL) Chromebook surpassed those for Apple's iPad in classrooms across the USA. This is a major hit to Apple which could amount to over a hundred million dollars in lost income, in this season alone (estimated). That might be why the stock fell this morning. This decision is also a sign that Google products are replacing Apple and that Apple may not have the forward momentum in computing products that people were hoping for or expecting. The iMac and other computing products have had slow and small increases in market share over the last few years, and investors were likely hoping for a more solid increase in this segment of Apple's business. This signals that that may not be the case. The tides are constantly changing in business, especially in an area with as many competitors as the personal portable tablet market. Other factors, China's economy is in question, a major world market. If they tumble into recession like the US did, it would impact Apple's (and others') sales for a long period of time, decreasing projections significantly. Another article last night suggested (and I agree) that the central bank of China's recent rate-lowering (as well as their reported injection of money into the banking system) point to serious economic instability, or the immediate concern of such, which these actions are meant to delay or prevent from becoming a reality. The Chinese government was reported to estimate their GDP around 7.2-7.5%, but the article stated that these actions would not likely be necessary unless the GDP was closer to 2.2%. These concerns impact Apple's potential sales and income now and into the future. In addition, other factors impact share prices. Apple has risen approximately 20% over the last 5-6 weeks. Why is a pullback surprising at this time, in light of this and other news? Our own (US) economy is due for a change once the Federal Reserve begins to raise interest rates, expected to come early to mid-next year. The entire stock market will be impacted when this occurs, I suspect. Increases of a percent a day, many days of the week, over years, with regular pullbacks, is not a normal market in and of itself. As they say on "Big Brother," "Expect the Unexpected." Or in this case, expect the expected. ---------------------- The writer has no positions in any of the companies mentioned. … [Read more...]
Outlier Analysis 