Investopedia: Apple Getting The Benefit Of The Doubt

It's good to be the king. I am willing to bet that if F5 (Nasdaq:FFIV), Google (Nasdaq:GOOG), or EMC (NYSE:EMC) misses its revenue estimate by 5%, the stock is going to get pounded pretty hard. With Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL), though, it seems like analysts, investors, and commentators are willing to go out of their way to find excuses and explanations to soften the blow. This is not to say that Apple does not deserve the benefit of the doubt (it does), but it just highlights that this is a situation where there is a huge fan base that wants the company and its stock to succeed.

A Disappointing Close to the Fiscal Year  
It is a testament to the success of Apple that 39% growth to over $28 billion in quarterly sales is a disappointment. But a disappointment it is all the same, as that top line figure came in about 5% below the average estimate and 10% below the target of the most ardent Apple analyst around.

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