Apple May Need to Power Up Mac

The company's efforts may be paying off. Sales of Apple's Mac grew faster than did the PC market in the fourth quarter last year. And data from NPD Group indicate the company gained share in January and February as well.

Apple's ability to grab share in the PC market could be crucial. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company's market share has been hovering at less than 3% of total PC sales. But that translated into $4.9 billion in sales in fiscal 2004, or 60% of Apple's total revenue. Bumping up market share by just 1 percentage point or so could add billions to the company's revenue -- and likely millions to the bottom line.

"I think people are too focused on the iPod," says Scott Rothbort, president of LakeView Asset Management and a contributor to TheStreet.com's sister Web site Street Insight. "They're not seeing the forest for the trees," says Rothbort, who is long Apple stock and calls.