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another month of declines... I thought Apple was immune to the recession??!?!!

November sales flat.
December and January decrease....

Yeaks.

People are losing jobs left and right and worried about what tomorrow holds... I think the last thing on their minds is buying an iPod.

Feb 17, 09 - 10:37 pm Comment from: Derek in Milan

Actually, Apple IS immune to the recession.
Why?
Because they are making about $8 billion a year profit and have about $30 billion CASH in the bank.

IF things went as bad as they are going with Dell, for example, they could afford to LOSE, say, $2 Billion a year for FIFTEEN years.

So maybe sales drop by 10%? Big deal.

Every other co. will drop too, but they aint rich like Apple.

Even devil-spawn Microshit dont have as much CASH on hand as Apple.

Feb 17, 09 - 11:12 pm Comment from: ID Argyll

Apple still made a PROFIT. Just not as much as before, but still very healthy.

Heck, I just bought a MacBook and my oldest son just bought an iPod Touch. I know two people who just bought NEW iPhones to replace their old ones, from last year! And we live in a place that's not known for tech savvy. If people here in IDAHO are buying Apple products then you know that Apple is making and selling dang good products.

The economy will not hurt Apple like it will other tech companies. Besides, with the cash on hand, they should be able to weather this soon to be depression, even if it lasts as long as the other one, back 1929.

Apple can be immune but with less sales, apple will need the money in the bank. Meaning less money in the bank!

They should not use sales per unit, but sales in $.

They point is that unit sales are down, but $ is not that much down since the iPod Touch is more expensive, and more profitable than the other iPods....

@John,
Apple doesn't need the money. They are operating on positive cash flow. When you're stacking cash, you're stacking cash. You're just stacking less of it. They shouldn't need to come up off any reserves. The cash is just growing a little slower.

keep in mind, Apple effectively introduced NO new products... a new 17 inch PB which no one can afford? Big whoop. People held off wondering when the new stuff would come out, and nothing came out!.. At Macworld it was prettymuch a software only Keynote.

I mean, why stop there, Apple? If you wanna release niche products that no one is buying, how about a $1999 Mac Pro tower. Perfect for the recession.

They've said nothing about Snow Leopard, and the iMacs are supposed to be right around the corner. The phone and ipod stuff, too, has been very quiet.

They're competitors are scrambling, and Apple is just sitting there. Can't wait for the next Keynote/Media Event, cuz Apple has a TON of stuff to update.

Feb 18, 09 - 05:15 am Comment from: almux

As allready writen: Apple sole will not solve the financial crises!

has anyone ever tried to find out how accurate npd numbers are? ever tried to see what they predict and then afterwards looked if it was correct? just wondering.

Feb 18, 09 - 09:08 am Comment from: mossman

Are analysts forgetting iPhone v2/3G was released middle of last year? Looking at just iPod sales, one would expect them to decrease as people held off purchasing replacement iPods and waited for the new iPhone.

Wait a minute. The data is NOT fact. It's a guess and extrapolation from data NPD collects and the survey isn't even scientific. Doesn't even reflect anything outside the US sales figures. Apple doesn't release month to month revenue figures. And, like lemmings, everyone seems to pick up this information and repeat it as though it's factual.

Let start holding these so-called analysts to a higher standard. Sure, Munster is "mostly" correct, but he would be "always" correct if he reported facts and not guesses and extrapolations. Are we supposed to make investment decisions based on information that is maybe correct, and maybe not? I don't think that's prudent.

what most of the other analysts don't know is that apple will report iphone (and related) revenue of 1.5 bn for the quarter (1.2 bn more than last year).

probably they don't know because they never understood the impact of deferred revenue over time. so even with apple's other businesses (mac, ipod, itunes, peripherals, software) declining 10%, apple will still report the best first calendar quarter in history with revenue of more than 8 bn.

imagine the numbers when apple others businesses decline less than 10%. which i assume is quiet likely with new imacs and minis overdue and an exploding app store. therefore still long aapl here in germany.

AAPL's 200 Daily Moving Average is around 132. The 50 is well below the 200 and the price looks like it's flirting with dipping below that. Again.

The market is in a correction. Two thirds of stocks tend to follow the indexes. Just take a look at the NASDAQ and AAPL. Compare the two.

AAPL has been going up on very light volume which means the big money isn't supporting it.

And Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster says buy.

Do we need more reasons to stay in cash at this point?

Buy on Fundamentals and Technicals. Sell on Technicals.

The second most important technical indicator after price, is Volume. The big money can't load up on a stock without it showing up on the charts. They can't sell a stock without it showing up on the charts. When they move, the price action and volume moves. Learn more about this from IBD or investors.com. This is crucial to understanding how to invest wisely. Learn to educate yourself so you can make the decisions.

Now is a risky time to buy any stock. Even a great company such as Apple.

Better to let the market prove itself and then to wait for Apple to setup in a proper base. If you pick a proper buy point, you take on much less risk than if you buy because some talking head/journalist needed to prove he's worthy of having a job.