Well it's harvest season here in New England, and the Macintoshes are ripe. But in Silicon Valley, it looks like Apple (NYSE: AAPL)'s Macintosh brand is the fruit filling in the PC market pie. According to TheStreet.com, Apple's Macintosh is gaining market share.
How much? In the third quarter, Apple's Mac computers accounted for 6.3% of all PCs sold, up from 5.7% a year earlier, according to IDC. This growth means that Apple pulled further ahead of its competitors as it increased its lead as the third-ranked player in the market, a position it took over earlier in the year.
This gain in market share should help Apple when it reports on Monday, as the Macintosh has been accounting for a greater share of Apple's own profit pie. In the first nine months of the company's fiscal year, the Mac accounted for 41% of the company's total revenue, up from 36% during the same time last year.
It's a tasty time to own Apple shares. The question for investors is whether Apple -- trading at a Price/Earnings to Growth (PEG) ratio of 2.6 (on a P/E of 49 and earnings growth forecast of 19% to $4.48 in 2008) -- is ripe for harvest or hot to hold. What do you think?
Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Apple.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-19-2007 @ 8:06PM
Oh Blah Dee Blah Dah said...
RE: "Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5pm"
Apple will report fiscal 2007 Q4 "FOURTH quarter," not Q3, on Monday, October 22, 2007.
Apple's fiscal 2007 Q3 ended September 30.
10-19-2007 @ 8:53PM
paul said...
Well I think its best to hold Apple until Q1 of 2008. Because Apple's road map of products is unknown, its hard to predict beyond that.
10-19-2007 @ 10:48PM
Neil Anderson said...
Looking forward to Apple posting some big numbers for all their products.
10-22-2007 @ 5:07AM
Nohjnogias said...
If Apple has reinvented the mobile phone, then hold, and hold on tight, 'cause it's going to be a sweet ride for several years to come.