Steve Jobs must be rolling over in his grave. He hated the idea of rewarding Wall Street in any way viewing the entire industry as nothing more than a collection of thieves, con men, and charlatans.
Today, we learned that Apple will carry out a 7:1 stock split in June, creating an absolute windfall for the brokerage industry. It seems that the brokers are having the last laugh. How far the Apple has fallen from the tree.
The news came out during the company?s spectacular Q2 earnings announcement covering the January-March quarter. Earnings per share rocketed from an estimated $10.18 to $11.62. Revenues leapt from a forecast $43.53 billion to $45.6 billion.
CEO Tim Cook guided revenues for the full year to the $36-$38 billion range. He also announced a massive increase in Apple?s share buy back program from $100 billion to $130 billion, the largest in corporate history.
iPhones, the firm?s core business, saw sales rocket from 38.5 million to an eye popping 43.7 million. And this is with the release of the new, big screen iPhone 6 in a few months! iPad?s fell from 19.8 million to 16.4 million due to production problems. CEO Tim Cook reaffirmed his belief that tablets will soon completely replace the personal computer.
There were no hints whatsoever about the numerous noise generating topics of Apple TV or Apple watches. Neither of these will ever account for more than a pittance of the company?s earnings, no matter how often speculation is dragged out on slow news days.
The gap up in shares in the aftermarket, some 7% to $565 a share, pretty much make it impossible to get any sort of entry points for a long side play in Apple. For week?s I had been urging followers to get in on the next dip to $500. But we never got there. At least Apple is trading with the rest of the market in 2014, like an absolute pig.
Still, Apple?s announcement augurs well for NASDAQ on Thursday and the market in general. That?s fine with me, as it presents me with a higher high from which the sell the market. Good thing I covered my short.
The New Apple Cupertino Headquarters Now Under Construction
