Apple's Rainy Season

Updated from 7:21 a.m. EST

Apple(AAPL Quote) says the calendar is partly to blame for earnings guidance that left Wall Street underwhelmed Thursday.

The company reported a record December quarter late Wednesday, saying earnings rose 92% from a year ago on better-than-expected sales. But Apple also issued earnings guidance that was well short of estimates, sending the stock down $1.49, or 1.8%, to $81 in early Thursday trading.

A number of factors contributed to that near-term outlook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer said on a conference call, including an expected seasonal decline in sales of the company's iPod digital music players. Oppenheimer also noted that the company's new Intel (INTC Quote)-based notebook computer won't ship until next month, and that the current second quarter will have one fewer week than the holiday period. ...