Apple Draws Strength From Mac

Investors are betting that Apple's iPhone will be a hit with consumers.

But if the device somehow fails to live up to all the hype, what will keep the company's sales afloat -- and stock price rising -- is, in a word, computers.

Apple's increasingly popular Macs served as a ballast for sales and earnings growth in the last quarter as iPod sales took a breather.

Desktop and notebook sales can likely carry the company through short-term volatility in sales of iPhones as well as other products such as iPods and its new television set-top boxes.

Also, if the iPhone launches on June 29 as planned, Apple can begin shifting engineering resources back to its delayed Leopard operating system, further shoring up its Mac business.

"Apple's computer business gets lost in the iPhone buzz," says Richard Parower, a portfolio manager at J.W. Seligman, which holds Apple shares. "Investors have to keep in mind that there's a lot more going on at the company."

Apple shares rose 8% when the company unveiled the phone in early January and have tacked on an additional 34% since mid-April, as analysts release lofty forecasts of the device's sales.

Despite a third day of heavy selling on Wall Street, Apple's shares closed trading up Thursday 43 cents, or 0.35%, to $124.07.