***This is merely a company overview of Apple with some minor analysis into the company’s business logistics. If you have no interest in Apple, their products, or future sales forecast…I’d skip this one. Otherwise, enjoy.***

Apple, Inc– formerly Apple Computer, Inc– but now just Apple due to Jobs’ push to turn the corporation from a computer manufacturer into a full-fledged personal electronics company. The California based tech sector icon launched the longly awaited iPhone and iTV last week at MacWorld. Along with a new operating system to combat Microsoft’s launch of Vista, loosely dubbed Leopard. Yesterday, Apple released their earnings report to the sweet tune of exceeding the street’s expectations. For the final three months of 2006, profit surged 78 percent after the company sold a record 21 million iPod players, or about 50 percent more than it did in the same period the year before. That’s an iPod sold for nearly every person in Texas. Sales of the iconic device accounted for $3.43 billion, or nearly half, of the company’s total revenue for the quarter. Apple also shipped 1.6 million Macintosh computers, up 28 percent from the year-ago holiday season. The iMac sales growth rate was more than triple that of the overall PC industry for the period, according to market research firm IDC. Apple’s share of the PC market in the U.S. also grew to 4.7 percent in the quarter, up from 3.6 percent a year ago, IDC said.

Yet on these strong numbers comes the normal tech sector warning that the next two quarters will be much more moderate in sales. Historically, February to August just isn’t strong for tech, but back-to-school and the holidays boost back up those forecasts. This volatility, combined with investor uneasiness with tech after 1999, doesn’t help tech investors long-term.

Apple’s next six months will weigh heavily on the success of the iPhone and iTV. All indications are the iTV will be an immediate success (Already taking orders online and ships in April), as it has surpassed the iPod as the most ordered product from their website this week. It’s a sleek and small box placed on top of your TV that can wirelessly receive TV shows, music, photos, or movies from a computer’s iTunes and be played right on the TV. It’s pretty gnarly, and a huge step over Microsoft and their huge home entertainment push. The iPhone may be met with more resistance though, despite its early rave reviews and oh-so-chic styling. It is a staggering $499 base with a 2-year plan from Cingular, a price that most people surely won’t be willing to pay. Apple has targeted one million as the amount of phones they want to sell by the end of the year, or roughly 1% of the American cell phone market. But as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said yesterday, “With no keyboard, business users won’t want to use it, and at it’s price tag you could get a better machine for half the price. The iPhone isn’t a threat.” Big words from Ballmer, but he’s got a point. The Motorola Q is only $100 right now and is offered through Verizon, the biggest US cell phone subscriber. And it is true that you pay for the ‘i’ branding, as it has established itself as a consumer monopoly. The iPod isn’t the best MP3 player on the market, it’s not the easiest to use, and it’s relatively expensive…but do you see anyone with a Microsoft Zune? Because Apple has been the best marketing company in the country since Jobs returned, and he has turned Apple into a status symbol, effective marketing that only happens once a decade, especially with these sustained results. We pay the premium for the brand as consumers, just like we pay for designer clothes when in all actuality, discount clothes aren’t much worse.

Apple stock (AAPL) is down almost 7% from last week’s MacWorld…due to this heightened sense of tech worry from the fickle fickle common investor that I have learned to deal with and accept. 90% of analysts have it at a “Buy” or “Strong Buy” right now, and these new products are the talk of the tech world. But Apple remains an enigma. In my mind, the corporation is the most intriguing in American business right now, and certainly one of the leaders in profit margin yield. The company is here to stay, but a serious stock recession certainly may be looming…until back-to-school sales anyway.