Apple Loses Trillion Dollar Company Status Due to 10% Slide on Stock Market Since Thursday

[MacRumors]

AAPL has dipped below the $200 mark at times today, and is down around 10 percent since Apple's earnings report last week, resulting in the company losing its trillion dollar valuation in terms of market capitalization. As of writing, Apple has a market cap of around $950 billion based on its latest share count.

Apple on Thursday reported revenue of $62.9 billion during the fourth quarter of its 2018 fiscal year, an all-time record for the July-September period, but the good news was overshadowed by Apple's revelation that it will no longer disclose iPhone, iPad, and Mac sales on a unit basis starting next quarter.

The news has sparked concerns among some analysts and investors that Apple may have something to hide, as iPhone unit sales in particular were essentially flat last quarter and could begin to decline in upcoming quarters.

Apple's financial chief Luca Maestri said unit sales are "not particularly relevant for our company at this point," as they are "not necessarily representative of the underlying strength of our business." He added that Apple may provide qualitative commentary related to unit sales if the info is valuable to investors.

AAPL is also being dragged down by a questionable report claiming Apple has informed its suppliers to halt plans for additional production lines dedicated to the iPhone XR due to "disappointing demand" for the smartphone.

Not everyone believes Apple's decision to stop reporting unit sales is a bad one. Apple bull Brian White at Monness Crespi Hardt believes the change "makes perfect sense" as Apple's success is "increasingly driven by an ecosystem of product and services on Planet Apple," including rising ASPs.

Apple analyst Gene Munster of Loup Ventures also believes the change will be "a good thing for Apple investors," as "the new reporting method will force the Street to think about Apple's business as a stable and growing service, which should yield a higher earnings multiple in the long run."

AAPL is currently hovering around $199-$201 on the intraday market, down from a closing price of $222.22 on Thursday.

Article Link: Apple Loses Trillion Dollar Company Status Due to 10% Slide on Stock Market Since Thursday

 

[bladerunner2000]

Aw, poor Apple.

 

[Andres Cantu]

They want to buy their shares on the cheap, hence their announcement of no more sales numbers.

 

[martyjmclean]

Sending thoughts + prayers to Apple in this difficult time.

 

[AngerDanger]

I kinda wonder what Tim Cook did upon first hearing the news…

 

[Digital Skunk]

‍♂️ So they're a $900 Billion company?

Oh the humanity!

 

[My Name is URL]

That’s fine, just jack up your prices on more crap.

 

[DJLAXL]

No more Cuatro Commas tequila I suppose

 

[User 6502]

Good. Maybe this will teach them to be less greedy.

 

[Mike MA]

Bad hair day...

 

[Starship67]

Hmm funny thing that stock market. This could change a number of times on any given day or week. So what's the news?

 

[ThunderSkunk]

unit sales are "not particularly relevant for our company at this point,"

Apple has crossed the event horizon into Silicon Valley post-reality utopianism.

 

[bluespark]

Disclosing unit sales is important to investors. Apple is welcome to explain why those figures are no longer "relevant," but investors aren't required to view things the way Apple prefers. I think the 10% correction on that news sounds about right (and I say that without regard for reports of weak Xr sales).

 

[mi7chy]

Apple need to shift their strategy and focus more on medical and health. iPhones and Apple Watches are great inexpensive helium leak detectors compared to specialized devices such as from Inficon that cost $20K+.

 

[redheeler]

unit sales are "not particularly relevant for our company at this point,"

A single sentence explains both the overpriced hardware and measly 4 GB of free iCloud storage.

Overpriced hardware = fewer units sold, but Apple doesn't care as the greater per-unit price makes up for it.
Measly free storage = not a good selling point for hardware, but does result in more people opting for the paid storage tiers, which strengthens services revenue.

 

[john123]

Watching this thread now for the comments by the dozens of people who think they're Warren Buffett and Jack Welch combined.

 

[djcerla]

Nikkei reports are always perfectly timed, I'd say engineered, to extend AAPL losses in down moments, and always turn out to be completely made up.

 

[justiny]

As an Apple shareholder, I couldn’t agree more about the company’s disgusting greed and the increasing prices on their (ever more confusing) product lines as if it’s a fashion trend.

On the other hand, I’m not panicking and have no intention to sell. Despite the negative press, this is a great time to buy Apple stock, as it probably won’t be sub $200 for very long. I might even pick up a few more shares to add to my collection.

 

[martyjmclean]

Bad hair day...

Fake news!! Craig Federighi never has a bad hair day.

 

[genovelle]

Disclosing unit sales is important to investors. Apple is welcome to explain why those figures are no longer "relevant," but investors aren't required to view things the way Apple prefers. I think the 10% correction on that news sounds about right (and I say that without regard for reports of weak Xr sales).

Because if it were relevant their competitors like Samsung, Google, Microsoft and others who have not provided this information for years, would be expected to report it. They stopped years ago, and there was not a word.

 

[Duane Martin]

Apple analyst Gene Munster of Loup Ventures also believes the change will be "a good thing for Apple investors," as "the new reporting method will force the Street to think about Apple's business as a stable and growing service, which should yield a higher earnings multiple in the long run."

Curious why Gene Munster thinks this will make the street look at the true value of Apple when every other positive indicator has been consistently ignored over the years? It is often argued that Apple is too dependent on the iPhone for revenue but in a quarter that showed increased revenue despite the stagnation felt in the smart phone market it would seem as Apple moves away from the iPhone for increased revenue no one is noticing.

Apple valuation and rational thought don't seem to be talking, as per usual.

 

[Krayzkat]

Is Amazon worth more now in market cap?

 

[macguru212]

Wall Street has done this to Apple since forever. It's a weird game these two play.

 

[Cosmosent]

RE: "Apple analyst Gene Munster of Loup Ventures"

That's NOT an Analyst ! ... that's an AAPL "Cheerleader" !!!


These three are the Best:

● Toni Sacconaghi of Bernstein

● Jeffrey Kvaal of Nomura's Instinet

● Dan Ives of Wedbush

 

[JPack]

Sales units are linked to the performance of Apple services and other accessories. Consumers aren't likely to buy Watch or Apple content if they don't have iPhone.