Apple reported outstanding earnings (no matter which way one looks at that earnings report) less than a week ago.
Prior to the earnings report, almost every news and magazine article one could have read, Wall Street sellsider reports one might have picked up, guests on the tube one would might have listened to was ready to sound the death knell on Apple and its prospects as an investment gong forward. The shouting, the fake-news, fake-channel checks, fake-supply chains checks and chatter from "sources" was so negative that investors couldn't help being in a panic going into Apple's earnings event last Tuesday evening.
Even Wall Street analysts were in hide-under-their desks mode and issuing reports with their usual CYA caveats. Some were lowering estimates but maintaining their Buy ratings, others were lowering their price targets but maintaining their investment ratings while the more bearish among that lot were cutting their price targets and lowering their estimates, while getting ready to write Apple's obituary once earnings were out and their dire predictions were met (never happened). And, of course, the warnings from the always-short gang recommending investors to "head for the hills" and then "repent" were incessantly strident or stridently incessant.
Well, less than a week out and suddenly Apple is the toast of the town aka Wall Street.
Of course, the pom-pom boys and girls (Wall Street analysts) will now slowly but sheepishly emerge from under their desks as the weeks go by but what made my eyes pop was a report from a market research firm that the iPhone X was the world's most popular smartphone in the March quarter, for the second quarter in a row.
Now, anyone that heard the Apple's conference call probably knew that iPhone X was not a dud but actually a stud in terms of consumer preference in Q1:18. Tim Cook, Apple CEO, stated as much on the conference call.
The market research firm further stated that their estimates showed that 16 million iPhones were shipped of the X, followed by 12.5 million of the 8, followed by 8.3 million iPhone 8 Plus and 5.6 million iPhone 7 to take the Top 4 spots in global smartphone shipments in the March quarter. The fifth spot was taken by Xiaomi with 5.4 million Redmi 5A's shipped and in the 6th spot was Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus with 5.3 million units shipped.
To add further insult to the injury to the afore mentioned nattering nabobs of negativity was the revelation, late Thursday night and early Friday morning, that none other than the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, had purchased an additional 75 million shares of Apple in the March quarter.
As of December 2017, Berkshire Hathaway owned 165.3 million shares in Apple. As of March 31, 2018, Berkshire Hathaway's stake in Apple was worth $40.7 billion and was also Berkshire's largest stake in any single company.
So, in less than a week, Apple goes from a dud to a stud.
Incidentally, Apple shares made a life-time high $184.25 (intra-day Friday) before closing at $183.83 per share, up $6.94 or 3.9% on Friday, May 4, 2018.
(Long aapl)
