Earlier this week, Apple Computer Inc. released financial results for its fiscal second quarter and they were terrific, although there were some shadows in the details. Sales of Apple's iPod were through the roof but sales of the G5 desktop were disappointing.
Investors, though, took one look at the big picture — profit tripling, $4-billion plus cash in the bank, no debt, a white-hot product – and started buying shares. Apple's shares hit a new 52-week high yesterday of more than $29 (U.S.). I've got a write-up on the market reaction to Apple's numbers in today's Globe:
“Despite cautionary notes from several Wall Street analysts that shares of Apple Computer Inc. were fully valued, investors piled into the stock of the Cupertino, Calif.-based company, driving its shares up by more than 10 per cent at one point yesterday, to a new 52-week intraday high.
The day after reporting financial results for what one analyst called “a monster quarter,” Apple's shares finished at $29.30 (U.S.) on the Nasdaq Stock Market, up $2.66 or 10 per cent from the previous day's close. Apple touched its 52-week high of $29.58 early in the session.
“We think Apple's newfound momentum is likely to snowball and continue to surprise investors on the upside,” said Steven Milunovich, technology analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. of New York. Mr. Milunovich reiterated his “buy” rating yesterday. He has a 12-month price target of $32 . ..” [Read the full story]
I found some old Apple photos on my hard drive recently. They are pics of Apple's HQ in Cupertino taken during a 1998 trip to Macworld San Francisco. The pic here is the front door at that time to Apple's head office. A bigger version and another pic is in B-Roll.