Apple Shares Lose Their Normal Shine

In response to an analyst's request for a statement, Oppenheimer said, "Steve loves Apple. He serves as the CEO at the pleasure of the board and has no plans to leave Apple. Steve's health is a private matter."

Apple's refusal to address the company's future means "it will be subject to rumors," says Romeo Dator, co-manager of the All American Equity Fund(GBTFX Quote - Cramer on GBTFX - Stock Picks) at U.S. Global Investors.

It's likely to be an overhang on the company's stock, says Dator. The fund holds shares of Apple in its portfolio.

Better-than-expected sales of the iPod were a bright spot in the company's third-quarter results. Despite fears that growth in the iPod division has reached a plateau, Apple posted strong iPod numbers.

About 11 million iPods were sold in the quarter, representing 7% revenue growth from a year ago and 12% unit growth from a year ago. Sales were mainly driven by the lowest priced product in the portfolio, the $49 Shuffle. Analysts' expectations ranged from 10.25 to 10.5 million devices.

Sales in the U.S. grew sales grew 10%, while international iPod sales were up 15%.

Apple shipped 2.49 million Macs, posting a 43% revenue growth from the year-before and 41% unit growth. Analysts' expectations had ranged from 2.4 million to 2.5 million Macs.

Quarterly iPhone sales came in at 717,000 devices, said Apple, and compared 270,000 iPhones sold in the year-ago-quarter.

The quarter's results don't include the company's latest iPhone 3G device. Apple has said that it sold 1 million iPhone 3Gs in the three days since the device's launch on July 11. That compares to the 74 days it took the company to sell one million first generation iPhones, said Apple.

« Previous Page

1 2 3

Next Page »