The Apple Slingshot Effect...
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 3:22PM What is the "Apple slingshot effect" I hear you ask?
Well this is how Apple give their stock price a double boost in a matter of days - a double whammy, in effect.
This is how it works...
First, you have to have a stellar quarter in sales. This usually is not a problem for Apple as each quarter just seems to be getting better and better. If speculation is anything to go by, the past quarter including Christmas has been another record quarter for Apple. So, once you have the stellar figures, you schedule a quarterly earnings call. In reality, the earnings call has to go ahead regardless of the results - as a publicly traded company, Apple are obliged to do this.
The trick is in the timing.
So the next quarterly earnings call has been scheduled for January 25th 2010. With a presumed record quarter, the stock price should go up!
Whammy number one.
It's also speculated (and still not confirmed) that Apple are preparing a major product announcement for January 27th, just two days after the earnings call. If Apple deliver the goods, the already inflated stock price resulting from the earnings call, will be slingshotted on the basis of future products.
Whammy number two.
A double whammy!
Of course, this assumes that they have had a good quarter but also that they announce something earth shattering on the 27th.
The Mac community is collectively holding it's breath in anticipation that the fabled new Apple tablet will be announced at the special event.
I think it will be just that for one main reason...
Apple have still not made a correction to peoples expectation.
They know that rumours are running at fever pitch and to not deliver the device would be detrimental. They could easily have extinguished (or at least dampened) the rumours by placing a few strategic calls to certain luminaries. But no, they are letting the rumours have free reign!
Along with the Wall Street Journal making "informed" comments and the highly suspicious taking down of the Fingerworks site just a few days ago, all the signs lead me to believe that that Tablet will be announced at a special event on the 27th.
Mind you, they have yet to even confirm the special event!
Things are going to get very silly over the next few weeks...
Reader Comments (3)
That's an interesting slant Don!
Does that mean we should but some Apple shares???
Good insight - the only problem with stock market surges like this is that it is a bubble effect driven by short term investers who usually bail as soon as they think they have milked it or not. I seem to remember the Apple share price started falling not long after the iPhone was announced last time. I expect the same this time. The degree of the fall will be the guage as to how the market received it.