Yesterday, Apple reported a 70% surge in their profit, yet they failed to meet the analysts’ estimates, AAPL shares, of course, fell 5.2% in pre-market trading, yet it seems now that the stock is now going up (the loss is narrowed at the moment to 2.73%, and the stock is trading at around $309).

In short, Apple posted a profit of $4.80/share, vs. analysts’ estimates of $5.03/share. I’ve always thought that the expectations are too high from Apple. Apple, like Netflix, is becoming a very scary company from an investor’s perspective:

– It depends on one person (Steve Jobs, who will bring the company down if he dies).
– It has production problems, and producing expensive and hyped gadgets that are not selling as many as investors think (or wish) they are. I have warned against the ipads, and I’m sure that the next quarter will be harsher on this expensive and (so far) useless gadget.
– It is ignoring the competitors. This is a very serious problem, while Apple is struggling to produce iphones to meet demands, competitors are working very hard to make better products. These competitors include RIM (Research In Motion), Motorola, and of course, Sony Ericsson.

AAPL will probably continue to move up, but the fall will be a very dirty one, even with the slightest (God forbids) health problem that Steve Jobs might encounter. A company that depends on one person (especially a company of that size) is not a company.