Story Stock: Apple Computer (AAPL) #1 [10]

"One more thing...." This is Apple CEO Steve Jobs's famous trademark end to a press conference that is a lead-in to something important. Today, Jobs will utter those words in San Jose at an invitation-only event. The new "thing" must be something compelling in order to reverse the sell-off sparked overnight when Apple reported fourth quarter revenue and iPod sales that fell well short of expectations.

This was the first time in three years Apple has missed sales forecasts. While the company reported record sales of $3.68 bln, up an impressive 56.5% year/year, yet the figure was below the market's consensus estimate of $3.74 bln. Further, as the main driver of the stock's rise from $10 to $50 in two year's time, iPod sales missed the low end of expectations. Apple sold 6.45 mln units, well below the consensus estimate of 7.45 mln, and even the lowest end of the 6.7-8.5 mln range. Read More...