Apple Tanked To Start The Day

The market's reaction to Apple's earnings was not good this morning.

The stock was down 3% pre-market, sending shares to $393.

This drop is actually worse than it sounds.

After earnings were released, Apple was up as much as 5% after-hours. But when people digested the report, and listened to Tim Cook on the earnings call, it started crumbling.

However, as the day continued, Apple's stock fought back to being pretty much flat.

Investors are coming to grips with the fact that the once high-flying company is grinding to a halt.

Instead of being a story of hyper-growth, it's now a cash cow.

Apple says it has new products in the works, but they're not coming until the Fall.

Even when those new products hit, they're not going to be as lucrative or successful as the iPhone.

Because Apple generates so much money, a return to big growth is nearly impossible.

So, now you have a company that is neither here, nor there. It's not a safe bet because technology is unpredictable, and this management team has not proven an ability to produce visionary products. It's not a high growth tech company either.

Throw in the fact that Apple issued really soft guidance, which is sending analysts scrambling to readjust their models, and it's not going to be easy for the stock to bounce back today.