Shares of Apple (AAPL) plummeted this morning after the company released earnings report that exceeded expectations in some areas and missed in others.
The company had a better holiday season than any other but offered future guidance that made many investors get out of the stock to the extent that it is trading at approximately $451 per share down $63 at the time of this writing.
Many claim that the market is saturated and fear that Apple won’t be able to innovate like it did in the good ole Steve Jobs days. Others say that the Android competition will gradually push Apple into a much smaller corner and stymie future growth prospects.
For itself, Apple almost always understates future projections, which if done in a temperate manner, is just good business. Never set expectations too high.
Everyone agrees that there are emerging markets like China with enormous potential and many countries, again like China, have gone Apple. Some, like Britain, are keen on Android and more specifically Samsung Galaxy products, but there is no doubt that the market abroad has the potential to keep Apple setting records into the indefinite future.
Also the power of the Apple brand is at its height with no real signs of abatement. There are more Apple devotees and the they are more devoted. Apple overspent in introducing perhaps too many variations of its products but that is a reflection of marketing, not the market. The market is still very favorable to Apple and no less so after earnings announcements yesterday afternoon.
