From MarketBeat:
Wait, is this the apocalypse? Wild animals are running loose in the streets of Ohio. Protesters are marching from Zuccotti Park to the Parthenon. Even more terrifying, Apple missed earnings forecasts!
Apple shares are down 5% this morning, at about $401, after the first Apple disappointment since the second quarter of 2002, according to FactSet data.
Investors are plainly not listening to Wall Street analysts, who continue to shower Apple with love this morning, suggesting the miss was perfectly predictable (although they didn’t actually predict it) and only means Apple’s next quarter is going to be even stronger.
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch analysts exemplify the standard analyst reaction to Apple’s disappointing iPhone sales in the quarter, saying the third quarter is simply a victim of what will be huge iPhone sales in the fourth quarter:
Apple missed revenue and EPS due to an underestimated pause in iPhone sales ahead of the 4S launch. That said, we do not view this as a sign of softening iPhone demand. In our view, solid pent-up demand, combined with incremental unit sales from new carriers added in F1Q12 (Apple deferred the new carrier addition to F1Q12 because of the iPhone 4S launch) should drive a healthy rebound in iPhone sales. We remain buyers of the stock heading into perhaps the most successful product launch in company history, with the iPhone 4S.Morningstar analysts think the fourth quarter will be a “blockbuster”...MORE
