You may have already heard that Apple is going through a bit of a rut right now. And in case you were wondering, this is what a “rut” looks like for the tech giant:
Apple’s shares continued their downward descent Thursday as the company announced poor quarterly results. Analysts believe this signals a slowdown for the company.
“Late Wednesday, Apple reported October-December earnings that were flat compared with the year before. Sales grew 18 percent from the year before, but the startup of production lines for multiple new products like the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini held back profits,” the Associated Press notes.
“Of more concern to investors is Apple sales growth forecast for the current quarter of around 7 percent — far from the 50-percent-plus rate it’s often hit in recent years. Apple usually lowballs its forecasts, but Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer indicated that it’s moving toward providing more realistic figures from now on,” the report adds.
The stock was down $53.55 or 10 percent, at $460.46 in midday trading.
Still, despite its disappointing quarterly and a decline in share value, it’s worth noting Apple Inc. is still the world’s most valuable company — even more valuable than oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp.
Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter
Featured image courtesy Robert Caplin/Bloomberg News.
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dave88
Jan. 27, 2013 at 8:37amPeople just are not as interested in paying top dollar for old crappy stuff.
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skipmontesjr
Jan. 25, 2013 at 10:23amPerhaps people are not drinking as much of the apple flavored cool aid…..The Iphone is so passe….It cannot compare to other phones like the Galaxy s3…..I also cannot see much of a difference between the Ipad and any other tablet….I wouldn’t spend the money…Apple does have a more reliable and stable platform but with the control freaks at Apple making sure you can’t change batteries just as one example why would you want to live under that control over your device? Go Android and live a happy technologically advanced life…
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dont_drive_slow_in_the_left_lane_obliviot
Jan. 25, 2013 at 9:56amIt’s the market, stupid.
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trinity76
Jan. 24, 2013 at 5:09pmI don’t think there’s anything significantly “wrong” – it’s just that the astounding growth of the last few years couldn’t be sustained – especially in an economy where consumers have to make hard choices about where their dwindling discretionary dollars are going to be spent. Unless Apple has fired it’s R & D department, there will be future innovations. Even if Apple hits a steady long-term decline, the mobile/tablet innovation engine for which they have provided a lot of starting power will keep running with the input of other companies and other innovations.
But, in the shorter term, iOS implementation in businesses is still on an upward trajectory, and speaking as an employ of a business that has been deploying iOS devices to employees and business partners for the last year and a half, we are very, very pleased with the iPhones and iPads. We are ditching the Blackberrys in favor of the iPhones. We’ve been on a steady deployment of iPads. There is just one minor issue that has prevented us from yanking all laptops in the field in favor of iPads. We keep finding lots of business processes that we can do better with mobile phone/tablet devices, the iOS devices have proven themselves to be the best for what we need, and we’re just getting started.
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myptofvu
Jan. 24, 2013 at 5:35pmFour months ago the stock was at $700 now its 450 thats a pretty big drop. AAPL was one of the most highly held stocks by Investment firms and the decline in the last quarter of 2012 didn’t help many Hedge Funds with their yearly performance. Since soo much stock was held it will take a while for all these institutions to lighten up on shares. Unless something big happens for Apple you will prob see more selling for the near future.
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Kaoscontrol
Jan. 25, 2013 at 1:08am“Analysts believe this signals a slowdown for the company”?
How about, this is a further indicator that we are NOT in recovery, rather a downward worldwide economic spiral that will continue until we’re in total collapse…. Sorry to be so optimistic.
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hauschild
Jan. 24, 2013 at 5:08pmAh, the one-trick-pony phenomenon has now been seen by the lemmings.
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forthepeople
Jan. 24, 2013 at 4:21pmLiberals build you up and tear you down , that’s called being / staying revenant !
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jfriedri
Jan. 24, 2013 at 4:15pmAll good things must come to an end.
Have you seen all the different types of cell phones there are today? It’s MIND BLOWING!
All of them do basically the same thing too. Phone, GPS, Calendar, Video, Camera, Internet, Music,Text, Email, Apps etc..
There is basically NOTHING NEW to add. Oh wow! A microphone to take out background noise …duh! A bigger screen to watch movies …. ho hum! A faster processor to do games… who cares! Longer battery life… who saw that coming.
All these phones do is add more useless features we will use a handful of time in our whole lives and could basically do without. For example: Sharing video/files with other phones by holding them next to each others (oh by the way, it doesn’t transfer in that time, it just establishes a connection that is all) looks easy but its more than that and how often are you going to actually use that feature?
I would rather these companies STOP ADDING FEATURES and instead focus on DRIVING THE COST DOWN to own these devices.
NOTE: The best feature I had seen lately is one that DISABLES the phone when you are in a car and the car is driving.
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forthepeople
Jan. 24, 2013 at 4:30pmJFriedr : ” All good things must come to an end. ” if thats true explain m]Microsoft even being relevant ?
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dave88
Jan. 24, 2013 at 4:13pmI think Apples customers are getting smarter and buying the better products on the market. You can only sell old technology for so long and it catches up with you.
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trinity76
Jan. 24, 2013 at 5:13pmMost consumers don’t care about their hardware specs, they care about whether or not the product they buy does what they need it to do. I know people who in the last few months have gotten an iPhone 4 – not even a 4S, because it could still do what they wanted it to do, and was being offered for free with a contract.
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chips1
Jan. 24, 2013 at 4:08pmAPPLE should go into the computerized weapons market. That’s the next big thing people want.
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woodyee
Jan. 24, 2013 at 7:20pmNice! You know what I’d like to work on or own? A portable, directionally controllable, point and shoot EMP device! Better yet, a disposable mini-drone EMP device.
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gopowers
Jan. 24, 2013 at 4:00pmI personally believe that Apple is selling less because their products are so well made that the life of the product surpasses competitors. From day to day, I still see people with the original iPhone and iPhone 3G. Shoot, iPods last forever. I still have mine from when they first went to the dock connector.
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macpappy
Jan. 24, 2013 at 6:14pmWell, once you pay $500. for a phone you tend to hang on to it .
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upadastra
Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:57pmWhat’s wrong with Apple?……………..Steve Jobs died.
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@leftfighter
Jan. 24, 2013 at 4:15pmBingo
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huntinwabbits
Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:22pmOccupy stopped getting paid by unions therefore there was no one with money left to buy Apple products. Also, the economy sucks and not everyone can afford a really expensive machine when there are equivalent and better machines for far less the price.
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summersmom
Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:14pmBuy or sell?
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Outlaw_Josey_Wales
Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:07pmApple sales should be up because of Obama Phones.
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woodyee
Jan. 24, 2013 at 2:55pmProbably a more accurate reflection of the economy than the unbelievable S+P 500 chart put up this morning.
Youth, jobs, money, bills, taxes, taxes, taxes…
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MODEL82A1
Jan. 24, 2013 at 2:51pmAnd this is what a “Rut” Looks like for a precious metal you all seem to know and love (the exact same 6 month period). “What’s wrong With Gold?” (The Headline you will NEVER see on The Blaze):
http://www.ebullionguide.com/price-chart-gold-last-6-months.aspx
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BaltimoreJoe
Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:23pmAn ounce of gold guys more than what it did 150 years ago. The same dollars buys family of 4 McDonalds lunch. When the next crash comes Gold will buy more still. Apple stock will continue it’s decline and crash with the rest.
Gold, stocks and bonds all going in the same direction at the same time doesn’t happen without a lot of manipulation. I got out in June before the crash, back in for a few years, and as of six months ago out again. Suggest you all do the same. Govt will take the 401s. Remember, you cannot exist or change you options in your 401Ks in the same day, usually 2 or 3. You will be stuck like last time.
That’s what the gun grab is all about. Politicians having sold us down the river don’t want to be dragged in the streets after the crash like they were in the 40s all over Europe.
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Lordchamp
Jan. 24, 2013 at 2:50pmHow can a company, any company, that makes “stuff” be worth more that a company that produces energy that ALL companies require? It does not make logical sense. Of course, very little of anything makes logical sense any more why should the market be any different?
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MODEL82A1
Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:04pmPlease tell me you are Liberal Troll, LORD. Your ignorance of basic capitalism, the financial markets and economics is astonishing.
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Cavallo
Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:09pmBecause Apple makes toys for all ages. Once the usefulness of those toys is past, their bubble will burst. Apple is on a bubble right now, and the only way they can keep going is if they keep innovating or people still have money to invest. The newness of their product is what is keeping their stock price so high. It isn’t sustainable or a durable good. Its not something that everyone needs like washers or refrigerators. Its a fad, and the only way they can keep the fad going is by making new items for the fad. Its a good model for the short term, and it is theoretically possible they can keep the new bobbles coming for at least a while longer.
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Just_Us2
Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:33pmGiving you the benefit of the doubt that you are not a troll, the value of an oil company is based on it’s ability to bring its product to market and find new sources of its product, among other things. If an oil company is barred from exploring new reserves, why would it’s value do anything but fall? Look around, that is exactly what is going on in the American oil industry. For Apple, it’s the same concept, but instead of oil pipelines, there are information pipelines and Apple is finding new and creative ways to bring information from a source to an end user. Not everyone has done this as effectively as Apple has so they have been rewarded with greater and greater stock prices….and why wouldn’t they. While innovation may not be a tangible asset, it is critical to the success business, government and individuals who wish to interact with the world. You are obviously on a computer, some feel Apple makes better machines than do their competition, same goes with phones, and media players. Information is no less critical than is oil. In fact, without information, oil would become much less valuable. Some feel as though Apple will continue to bring innovative products to market and are worth investing in. You may not feel the same way, so don’t invest. To suggest oil is of more value than Apple is to be ignorant of how dramatically technical innovation has transformed our every day lives AND how hungry Americans are for more technology.
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brntout
Jan. 24, 2013 at 2:49pmApple apparently didn’t take a big enough bite…er kiss enough **** to get the prezidential nod.
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media-bias-steals-elections
Jan. 24, 2013 at 2:49pmCompeting with Android perhaps?
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AZ Prosecutor
Jan. 24, 2013 at 2:45pmAnnouncing new designs for the 21.5′ and 27″ iMacs in September, not making them available until late November and late December could not have helped sales much either. BTW, love my 27 iMac!
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chips1
Jan. 24, 2013 at 4:12pmI’m in the market for a 45 cal. I-pad.
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tonypro
Jan. 24, 2013 at 2:44pm“” What’s Going on With Apple? “”
Who cares?
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MODEL82A1
Jan. 24, 2013 at 2:54pmLooks almost identical to the 6 month Chart of Gold. Bet you care about that. Oh, wait, that’s right, you weren’t sold Gold as an “Investment”……Lol!
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Ivehadenoughtofthisgovenmentcrap
Jan. 24, 2013 at 2:57pmAmen…..
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civilwarcometh
Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:00pmhttp://www.wnd.com/2013/01/did-john-kerry-act-as-an-enemy-agent/?cat_orig=politics
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tonypro
Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:35pm@MODEL82A1
I’m no gambler, but if I were I feel pretty confident I’d stand a better chance in Vegas than on the stock market. :-} LOL
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macpappy
Jan. 24, 2013 at 6:16pmMODEL82A1
I started buying gold at $325. oz……still looks pretty good to me.
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