By all accounts, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares should be moving higher right now. The consumer technology giant topped earnings estimates and matched revenue expectations for its recently completed fiscal fourth quarter, and sold more iPhones than it was expected to.
Yet, in the last four completed trading days, AAPL stock has logged five straight losses.
A “buy the rumor, sell the news” result driven by the 28% runup AAPL mustered between late June and the day before it announced earnings? Maybe. But, considering just how unusually pessimistic the rhetoric has turned regarding the company, there’s a pretty good chance the sentiment pendulum has once again turned bearish.
If so, the next few weeks could be rough on those faithfully holding on to Apple stock.
The Way AAPL Stock Really Works
Calling a spade a spade, Apple isn’t just a company. It’s an idea and an ideal. Investors don’t simply own AAPL shares — they embrace them, and take an active role in defending them. (If you don’t believe it, check out the comments at the bottom of this page shortly after it’s posted.)
That sentiment-driven bullishness is a two-edged sword though. When investors are feeling it, Apple can do no wrong. When those investors feel the company has been anything less than outstanding, however, a small misstep turns into a major, stock-punishing affair.
The media accommodates that sway in opinions too, parroting investors’ opinion as much as leading them. Indeed, even just a cursory look at all the headlines is an easy way to assess the market’s view of Apple stock at any given time.
That’s what makes things so interesting — and not in a good way — with Apple stock right now. The bulk of the headlines about the company of late have been less than optimistic, voicing doubts about the future of everything the company makes and sells.
Eight different commentaries each suggest the company isn’t doing much of anything very well right now.
Eight Things the Experts Aren’t Loving
Fans and followers of AAPL shares have been hard-pressed to find an encouraging commentary about the iconic company lately. Indeed, of all the pies Apple has a finger in, enthusiasm about all of them are poor. In no certain order…
Apple, Inc.’s iPad Pros Could Be Doing Better
While the iPad is a marvel among tablets and the initial demand for the device was strong, they have not been flying off the shelves lately. To rejuvenate waning iPad sales, Apple repositioned them as an enterprise tool. The response to that effort has been lukewarm as well.
Apple (AAPL) Stock Down Amid Signs of Softening China Demand
China has been a problem for Apple for a couple of quarters now, but the fact that the financial media is still ringing this bell speaks volumes.
Apple Confirms iOS 10 Serious Problem
One of the key selling points for Apple devices is that they almost always work, and are as secure as any mobile device can be … until they aren’t.
The problem was limited to the “Health” app, and was shored up within five days. It was a five-day security gap Steve Jobs never would have allowed, though.
Apple’s new MacBook design gets thumbs down from some ‘power users’
That’s a headline that speaks for itself. Mac fans tend to be rabidly loyal. That may well be changing, with rival Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) turning the tide in the battle of business laptops.
Has Apple done anything good to speak of lately? It sure doesn’t look like it. Add to the list:
Analyst on Apple’s new TV app: ‘I don’t think anybody’s going to tune in’
iPhone 7 Has Strange ‘Watercolor’ Camera Problem
While Tim Cook Twiddles His Thumbs, Disney Should Go After Netflix
“Twiddles his thumbs?” Ouch.
Last but not least…
Apple fails to stop bid for executive compensation reform
It may mean nothing right away, or directly. The fact that the matter of executive compensation was just taken out of executives’ hands and could soon be scrutinized by an unrelated third-party, however, is in itself a red flag. Apple stock holders wouldn’t even be making such a play if they were satisfied with the direction the company was headed.
It’s just an awful lot of negative press for a company that tends to be one of the media’s darlings.
Bottom Line for Apple Stock
Is it more reality, or more a matter of perception? Arguably a little of both, but at this point the pessimistic perception is far more damning than any actual performance metrics could be.
What’s so alarming, however, is the sheer breadth of the pessimism.
Will that tide turn in the future? Sure, it always does. Headlines are a Rorschach test of sorts though, and to the extent they’re a sentiment barometer, Apple is on the defensive here. That’s not a position Tim Cook has handled well in the past, nor is it a situation that AAPL shares have usually shrugged off.
As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
