Tim Cook congratulates employees on another record quarter during Town Hall Q&A

“Following reporting what CEO Tim Cook referred to as another record-setting quarter, today the Apple executive sent out an email to employees congratulating the team,” Jordan Kahn reports for 9to5Mac. “Within the email, Cook thanked employees for their ‘incredible hard work and focus’ and highlighted that the company sold over 75 million iOS devices during the quarter.”

Kahn reports, “Like last year, when Apple held a Town Hall meeting following its Q1 results, Cook is asking employees to attend an employee communications meeting scheduled for today at 10 a.m. Pacific time. The email sent out last night following Apple's earnings results conference call, and it noted that employees would be able to submit questions via AppleWeb in advance.”

Read more in the full article here.

Apple in danger of losing ‘Most Valuable Company In The World’ crown

On Jan. 25, 2012, Apple Inc. passed Exxon Mobil as the most valuable publicly-traded company in the world. The gap between #1 and #2 had widened to as much as $240 billion by September 2012 as Apple shares hit all-time record highs. You know, back when we all should have sold our AAPL stock (wink).

“That gap alone is greater than the value of some 98% of the companies in the S&P 500,” Steven Russolillo noted for The Wall Street Journal. “Over the summer Apple even gained the title of biggest U.S. company of all-time, surpassing Microsoft's previous peak in 1999.” (See related articles below.)

“But Apple's fall in recent month has been fast and furious. Thursday alone, the company's market cap fell by as much as $59.48 billion, according to WSJ Market Data Group,” Russolillo reports. “At one point, the gap between Apple and Exxon's market cap had narrowed to only about $6.2 billion.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Damn that all-time record performance! Damn it all to hell!

Embrace the lunacy, folks, for calmer, saner heads will someday prevail and this too shall pass.

Apple’s all-time record quarterly earnings disappoint

Apple Inc.’s “fiscal first quarter marks the first full period to include sales of the iPhone 5, which launched in September. The company, which doesn’t break out sales by models, sold a record 47.8 million iPhone smartphones in the latest period, up 29% from a year earlier,” Nathalie Tadena reports for The Wall Street Journal. “Apple also sold a record 22.9 million iPad touchscreen tablet computers in the most recent quarter, a 49% year-over-year increase.”

“For the quarter ended Dec. 29, Apple reported a profit of $13.08 billion, up 0.1% from $13.06 billion a year earlier [and the most profitable quarter for any tech company in history, narrowly edging out Apple's own $13.06 billion record set in the same quarter last year]. On a per-share basis, earnings fell to $13.81 a share from $13.87 a share as the latest period had slightly more shares outstanding. Revenue jumped 18% to $54.5 billion,” Tadena reports. “In October, the company predicted earnings of about $11.75 a share on revenue of about $52 billion. Analysts most recently projected $13.47 share and $54.73 billion, respectively.”

Tadena reports, “Shares fell 10.4% to $460.66 after hours. The stock, which reached an 11-month low last week following reports that Apple cut production for the iPhone for the current quarter, has fallen 16% over the past three months.”

Read more in the full article here.

All eyes on Apple as company readies Q113 earnings release this Wednesday

“Apple this Wednesday is expected to report record iPhone and iPad sales from the 2012 holiday season,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider.

“This Wednesday’s earnings conference call has already been declared Apple’s most important in a decade,” Hughes reports. “The report arrives as AAPL stock has taken a significant hit in recent months, dipping below the $500 threshold.”

Hughes reports, “The timing of Apple’s selloff is particularly interesting, as the company just completed a holiday quarter that was likely the strongest in its history. Consensus calls for Apple to report $54.58 billion in revenue, which would be up from its previous record of $46.33 billion set in the holiday 2011 period... Particular attention will also be paid to Apple’s guidance for the March quarter. Any potential decreases in demand are expected to be seen in the company’s second quarter of fiscal 2013, which is currently underway.”

Read more, including the analysts’ consensus estimates for Apple Inc. and Apple product unit sales, in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Note: Today is Martin Luther King Day in the U.S. and the markets are closed. As usual on such trading holidays, we will have limited posting today.

It’s Triple Witching Friday

“Triple Witching Friday is an event that occurs when the contracts for the stock index futures, stock index options and stock options all expire on the same day,” Golden Hammer writes for Seeking Alpha. “Triple witching days happen four times a year on the third Friday of March, June, September and December. It just so happens that today is that day.”

“Today I expect to see large volumes of buying and/or selling as investors try to cover their open positions,” Hammer writes. “I expect those who sold the naked calls to take large short positions this morning in an attempt to drive the prices lower before covering. This typically can allow for 2%-3% swings on a day like today.”

Hammer writes, “I expect all of the indexes to open approximately 1% lower tomorrow as the shorts begin to initiate their positions. Given the extreme caution surrounding this fiscal cliff, I doubt the bulls will have enough positive momentum to beat out the bears early in the day. I do believe however we can expect to see a sharp rise going into the final hour before the market closes. I base this option on the fact that next week holds potential for both a “Santa Claus rally week” as well as a possible cliff resolution. This would grant those who are willing to hold out a very happy new year.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: And, rumors of today’s apocalypse were greatly exaggerated.

The mystery of Apple’s crashing stock price

“It is not unusual for investors to find the markets moving in ways that seem to defy common sense. Companies often feel the same way. They announce good results, they have a great product pipeline and plenty of cash in the bank, and the stock price falls off a cliff. The directors throw up their hands and wonder what on earth the markets expect from them,” Anthony Harrington writes for Seeking Alpha.

“However, what looks to be irrational or at best understandable as a wild amplification of a minor negative — something markets can do from time to time as investors overreact and ‘herd behavior’ sets in — can occasionally have a more rational explanation,” Harrington writes. “Apple (AAPL) provides an excellent case in point. The stock has a long history of soaring rallies and massive sell-offs. Why is this important? As arguably the most successful and iconic company in America, and as a company that has a reputation for rewarding buy-and-hold investors if they can ride out its price troughs, Apple is a major component in the portfolios of big institutional funds across advanced markets. Fund managers know that by maximizing their allocation to Apple, they are giving themselves a very good chance of outperforming over the medium term.”

Harrington writes, “In an excellent article featured in Seeking Alpha, Jason Schwarz points out that the key to understanding Apple’s huge sell-offs from time to time lies in the fact that most fund managers will have a rule that says that any single stock cannot be more than a certain percent of their total portfolio. The reason for this is to honor the idea of diversification as the best way of protecting capital. If you follow this idea of a restriction on the percentage any one stock can have allocated to it, then it follows that when Apple is doing one of its major run-ups, adding very substantially to its price, as happened when it went from $500 to $700, the total value of Apple holdings in many fund portfolios rapidly exceeded the allowed allocation. So the fund managers have to rebalance their portfolios by selling off a chunk of Apple stock to bring the allocation to Apple back within their policy constraints.”

Read more in the full article – recommended – here.

MacDailyNews Take: You can define “crashing” however you’d like, but while Apple is certainly down from its September 21st all-time high of $705.07, one year ago, on December 9, 2012, AAPL shares closed at $393.62.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Arline M." for the heads up.]

Analyst slaps $400 price target, ‘Sell’ rating on Apple; claims ‘cycle of vogue’ ending

“Per Lindberg of Oslo, Norway-based investment bank ABGSC Sundal Collier yesterday published a rare thing: an initiation of coverage of Apple (AAPL) with a Sell rating and a $400 price target,” Tiernan Ray reports for Barron’s.

“Writes Lindberg in his lengthy report (102 pages), Apple's products ‘are no longer unique,’ phone companies are looking for alternatives, and customers are ‘suffering from ‘fashion fatigue,”” Ray reports. “‘For all its commercial success, marketing prowess and brand image, Apple is bound to enter a phase of much stiffer competition, far tougher comparisons, and, materially less generous operator subsidies,’ writes Lindberg.”

Ray reports, “Amidst a raft of problems - including ‘Microsoft getting its act back together with Windows 8′ - Lindberg sees substantially lower revenue and earnings per share in coming years versus consensus.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Dude oughta analyze his own mental state - or at least a Windows 8 review.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers "Nick P." and "Rainy Day" for the heads up.]

Why Apple stock might regain $600 this week

“Shares of tech giant Apple are up over 1% in early morning trading reaching as high as $580 - helped by a bullish report from analyst Glen Yeung of Citigroup,” Richard Saintvilus writes for Forbes. “Likewise, early sales indicators from the Black Friday weekend points to another monster quarter for Apple. Many analysts point to the fact that Apple had not had to offer significant discounts of its iPad mini as a sign of strong demand.”

“Ahead of the shopping season, analysts had initially projected iPad mini sales to reach an estimated 5 million units,” Saintvilus writes. “However, with the device commanding such interest from retailers such as Walmart and Best Buy, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Apple might exceed that total before Christmas on its way to at least 6.5 million units.”

Saintvilus writes, “From an investment perspective, it's hard not to like the stock at any price under $600. The stock has rebounded nicely after dropping as much as 30% a recent low of $505. The decline was largely due to concerns over the "fiscal cliff." However, shares seem poised to regain the $600 mark.”

Read more in the full article here.

Related article:
Citigroup initiates AAPL coverage with 'Buy' rating – November 26, 2012

Analyst ups rating on Apple to ‘Strong Buy’

“Apple Inc. (AAPL) may have pulled back substantially from its highs, but one research upgrade has come out today,” Jon C. Ogg reports for 24/7 Wall St.

“S&P Capital IQ raised its rating to Strong Buy from Buy,” Ogg reports. “As recently as yesterday we saw that S&P Capital IQ had a Buy rating and a $700 price target. The call is after shares have fallen by 23% or so from their recent highs. but analyst Scott Kessler is not changing his price target objective from the $700 mark.”

Ogg reports, “S&P Capital IQ sees the fundamental story unchanged and intact and Kessler believes that Apple could decide to allocate more capital toward dividends and buybacks.”

Read more in the full article here.

Jim Cramer: Apple is a sell ahead of U.S. ‘fiscal cliff’

“For years, Jim Cramer worked as a broker at Goldman Sachs, the prestigious investment firm on Wall Street. After stocks took a sharp nosedive in a post-election selloff Wednesday, he wondered what he might tell his clients, if he was still working as a broker,” Drew Sandholm reports for CNBC. “To start, the ‘Mad Money’ host would recommend taking profits in some of the biggest winners.”

“‘Needless to say, a stock like Apple is very right for this kind of call and I think it played out all day today because it makes so much sense to sell it now and take the capital gain as many have huge profits here,’ Cramer said. ‘These people are natural sellers and they don’t care that next year could be better, they want to take the gain this year to get the tax break, which is worth more than any capital appreciation they could hope for,’” Sandholm reports. “Cramer said, ‘I would then tell my clients that we will almost immediately start to put money to work in companies that will not be hurt by the fiscal cliff, ones that do fine in a slowdown that the cliff could bring.’”

Read more in the full article here.

Related article:
Apple shares slide to 5-month low – November 7, 2012

Apple spent 3.4 billion on R&D in FY12, up $1 billion – the largest increase in company history

“Apple spent $3.4 billion in research and development during its 2012 fiscal year, up $1 billion from 2011,” Darrell Etherington reports for TechCrunch.

“The new R&D spending total for the year is… an increase that's much larger than at any time in the company's past,” Etherington reports. “Between 2011 and 2010, for instance, R&D spend rose only $600,000, and between 2010 and 2009, grew by only $500,000.”

Etherington reports, “The huge uptick in R&D spending could... mean Apple has a lot more in new products coming next year, but we'll have to wait and see.”

Read more in the full article here.

Analyst: Apple’s imminent ‘iPad mini’ design ‘could outshine new iPad’

“Chatter from Apple's overseas supply chain indicates that the company has not been cutting corners... Apple's "we just want to make great products" ethos will be as evident in the iPad mini as it is in all the company's hardware,” John Paczkowski reports for AllThingsD.

“Tokepa analyst Brian White, who's been travelling around Taipei talking to component suppliers, says the mini - or whatever Apple chooses to call it - may even be slicker than the new iPad,” Paczkowski reports. “‘Apple did not skimp on the aesthetics of the much anticipated ‘iPad Mini,” White says. ‘In fact, we believe the ‘iPad Mini’ could outshine the new iPad in terms of how the device feels in a consumer's hands.’”

Paczkowski reports, “Here at AllThingsD we too have been hearing promising things about the iPad mini's design, which sources say demands a lot of the companies manufacturing it.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Just tell us where to enter our credit card number!

AAPL bulls hopeful missed iPhone 5 unit sales number will catch up to analysts’ expectations

“Shares of Apple (AAPL) continue to be under pressure [today], falling $10, or 1.4%, to $690.07, worse than the 0.7% decline in the Nasdaq Composite Index, after the company this morning said it sold more than 5 million iPhone 5 units since the device formally went on sale last Friday, including pre-ordered units, while stating that demand has exceeded the company's initial supply,” Tiernan Ray reports for Barron’s.

“That was more than the 4 million or so the company sold in the debut weekend of the prior model, the iPhone 4S in October last year, but it was less than figures put out by Wall Street analysts that had been in the neighborhood of 7 million to 8 million units.,” Ray reports. “An article this morning by The Wall Street Journal's Ian Sherr and Ann Zimmerman notes that Apple provided fewer units of the iPhone 5 to its third-party retail partners this year than it has for prior debuts, including Best Buy.”

Ray reports, “Shaw Wu of Sterne Agee reiterates a Buy rating and an $840 price target, writing that the tally ‘is a bit lower than estimates as high as 10 mm’ but that ‘we are not overly concerned as this is still a big number and believe this is more a matter of high expectations getting out of touch with reality.’”

Read more in the full article here.

Related articles:
Analyst: Why Apple whiffed on iPhone 5 sales – September 24, 2012
iPhone 5 sales disappoint as Apple fails to produce units fast enough to meet demand – September 24, 2012
Apple iPhone 5 misses analysts' estimates with over 5 million units sold in first weekend – September 24, 2012
Apple: iPhone 5 sales exceed five million units in first weekend; demand exceeded initial supply – September 24, 2012
Apple: Due to high demand, some iPhone 5 pre-orders will be delivered in October, rather than September – September 17, 2012
France Telecom's Orange: Apple iPhone 5 pre-orders surpass iPhone 4 and 4S records – September 17, 2012
iPhone 5 pre-orders top two million in just 24 hours, more than double iPhone 4S previous record – September 17, 2012
Apple's iPhone 5 sets AT&T sales record; most successful iPhone launch ever – September 17, 2012
iPhone 5 pre-orders sell out in one hour, 22 times faster than iPhone 4S, further spotlighting Apple's dominance – September 14, 2012