The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.
NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Over the weekend, I had a discussion with fellow TheStreet contributors Robert Weinstein and Rocco Pendola about tech giant Apple ( AAPL) and we arrived at the conclusion that the company has become the Dos Equis guy of the stock market -- "the most interesting stock in the world."
Of course it makes sense as it is already the largest company in the world, but after reading Rocco's article last week, I find no shame in admitting that as a shareholder I'm beginning to get a bit nervous as the company is due to report its earnings Tuesday afternoon after the market close.
Cause for Concern
Though Rocco's article served to rattle my cage a little bit, my concern stems more from what has now become one of the toughest two weeks the company has ever seen in terms of declining share price. Since reaching an all time high of $644 on April 10 the stock has now lost 11% of its value in what seems like a blink of an eye -- led by a $25.10 point drop on April 16, its largest ever in one single day. The question everyone wants answered is, what does all of this mean? Follow TheStreet on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. While I continue to think that it is just standard profit-taking by investors rather than any legitimate concerns over Apple's business, I have also begun to wonder of two possible scenarios -- first, last week chip giant Qualcomm ( QCOM) warned of supply chain problems that adversely affected its ability to meet demand. So it is possible that investors are taking profits now ahead of the announcement and bracing for any possible side effects. Second, it is possible that investors are expecting the numbers to be great. But then again, "great" for Apple is usually the expectation and may not be enough to send the shares higher. And as I have said recently, though the numbers just might be phenomenal, how will it look if it arrives weaker than the previous quarter -- one that included a very plentiful holiday shopping season.
