Apple Forecasts: Not Just Hype
From BusinessWeek: Unusually aggressive guidance didn’t stop analysts from making even more optimistic predictions for the iPhone maker in 2008.
There’s a guessing game that goes on with Apple’s quarterly financial reports which goes something like this:
Apple (AAPL) gives realistic yet understated forecasts for sales and profit in the coming quarter. Analysts, knowing Apple usually predicts lower results than it delivers, then read tea leaves to give clients the real deal on what to expect.
Was Apple taking a new tack and giving aggressive numbers closer to the “real” target or still giving the understated outlook? The consensus among analysts seems to be the latter, and they’re back to making predictions for the coming year that may send the minds of even longtime Apple watchers reeling. Even some of the most optimistic among them may be right.
