Last week we told how Apple’s shares suffered despite an impressive new range of products. The falling shares had nothing to do with the announcements, we said, the markets were just glum, and any news was interpreted as bad.
Well it has happened again.
Profits at Apple soared, breaking the previous record by 58 per cent. In total, profits came in at $1.58 billion, in their most recent quarter. A year ago, when the company set its previous record, profits were $1bn, on the dot.
Sales went though the roof. Mac sales came in at $2.3bn, compared with just $1.6bn a year ago, and a mere $1.2bn the year before that.
As for the iPod, sales were worth $2.2bn, again marking the best-ever quarter – although a year ago, sales were only slightly lower at $2.1bn.
“We’re thrilled to report our best quarter ever, with the highest revenue and earnings in Apple’s history,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s famous boss.
Yet, shares in the company fell. Investors uttered something about how the company’s predictions for the next quarter were down on what had been expected.
The truth, though, is that Apple, alongside Google, stands as testimony to the power of US optimism. These two companies have startled, and put in performances that simply could not have been produced anywhere else in the world. They believed, they dared – and they won.
But right now, the mood on Wall Street is mean. If your child asks for a favour the moment your computer crashes, and you lose 4 hours’ worth of work, you are more likely to say No. Wall Street’s reaction to yesterday’s news was just like that.
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