CALDEIRÃO DE BOLSA

For those unfamiliar with Jobs' situation, he is a survivor of pancreatic cancer, and his condition came into question in June. When Jobs appeared at the firm's annual developers' conference he looked thin, but it was blamed on "an unspecified illness that required treatment with antibiotics." Since that appearance, neither Jobs nor AAPL has commented on his health. However, the article notes that Jobs' appearance and health were also commented on by Disney (DIS) directors (of which Jobs is included) after their latest board meeting.

I basically dismissed the impact of Jobs' health on AAPL when I started reading this article, until I read this: One investor polled by The Post acknowledged to recently selling down his stake by "a few million shares" as a hedge in case any more bad news comes out about Jobs' health. A bold move? A stupid move? You be the judge ... as The Post notes that AAPL shares are 11% lower since the June conference.

So what happens if AAPL does comment on Jobs' health, and it isn't good? Would that news have more of an impact than the earnings? This is a tricky situation, especially given the fact that AAPL is not one to comment on Jobs' health in a timely manner. His pancreatic cancer was not revealed until the tumor was removed. So, the appearance of Jobs may be more important than the appearance of the earnings ... rather than keeping an ear out, keep an eye out.

-Posted by Mark Fightmaster

Wired Escreveu:Macs, iPods Carry Apple to Record-Setting Revenues

Record-setting sales of Macs and iPods propelled Apple to healthy profits, the company announced Monday.

Defying naysayers who expected weak results -- and despite the fact that it had no iPhones to sell during much of the quarter -- Apple posted 38 percent revenue growth and 31 percent growth in its third-quarter earnings, for a net quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per diluted share.

Despite the strong showing, Apple forecast a weaker fourth quarter. As a result, less-than-optimistic investors pummeled Apple's stock in after-hours trading. As of 2:45 p.m. Pacific time, the stock was at $150, down about $16 from its end-of-day close.

In the earnings call, Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's senior vice president and chief financial officer, said Apple netted $1.07 billion in profit, out of an overall $7.46 billion in revenue. The company also sold 2.5 million Macs -- the most computers sold by Apple in any quarter. The iMac was a strong force behind the sales boost in addition to high demand for MacBooks and MacBook Pros, Oppenheimer said.

Overall, Q3's revenue grew 38 percent from 2007's Q3 revenue. But Apple's gross margin fell to 34.8 percent from 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter, raising concern among investors.

Apple shares tumble in after-hours
Monday, July 21, 2008 - 04:59 PM EDT
Apple shares tumbled in after hours trading ($156.16,-10.13, -6.09%) as the company offered guidance of $1.00 EPS on $7.8 billion in revenue. First Call analysts' consensus estimates are for $1.24 EPS on $8.32 Billion in revenue.Apple is notorious for providing conservative guidance.

Apple today posted Q308 revenue of $7.46 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per diluted share versus analysts' consensus expectations of $1.08 a share on revenue of $7.4 billion. These results compare to revenue of $5.41 billion and net quarterly profit of $818 million, or $.92 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.