“When Apple Inc. delivers its next earnings report later this month, it will mark a milestone of sorts: the company’s first reporting period without Steve Jobs, its co-founder and chief executive,” Rex Crum reports for MarketWatch in a story headlined “Apple closes first quarter without Jobs at helm.”
MacDailyNews Note: One minor issue: Steve Jobs remains “at the helm” as CEO, making strategic decisions. Otherwise Crum’s premise is fine (dripping sarcasm).
Crum continues, “Day-to-day management is in the hands of Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, who has overseen several new product introductions but also has to cope with a severe economic downturn that has crimped demand for PCs and other high-tech products.”
“Apple is scheduled to deliver results for its second fiscal quarter on April 22. Although Jobs remains chief, he went on a medical leave of absence earlier this year that’s scheduled to end in June,” Crum reports.
MacDailyNews Take: If he’s reporting that Jobs remains “chief” (CEO), then Crum must have read his publicly-released (Jan. 14) letter in which Jobs’ announced his medical leave and stated, “As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out,” which is directly the opposite of MarketWatch’s headline and Crum’s opening sentence. Why didn’t Crum fix those mistakes before the article was published?
Crum continues, “So far, investors seem to have kept their faith in Cook and company. Since Jan. 14, when Jobs announced he would be stepping aside to handle his health issues, Apple’s stock has climbed more than 35% to $115 a share — reaching its highest levels since last September.”
Crum writes, “Current expectations are relatively modest. Wall Street is expecting revenue to increase less than 6% to $7.94 billion compared with the same period last year, according to estimates from FactSet Research. Earnings are expected to come in at $1.05 a share — down from a profit of $1.16 a share last year.
Full article, complete with an Enderle quote (Crum could have achieved the same effect by hanging a “Who needs credibility?” sign around his neck), here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Carl H.” for the heads up.]
