We now know the first rule of Apple earnings calls: you don’t ask about Steve Jobs.
Apple has rocked Wall Street twice in just two days. Yesterday, Apple announced that CEO Steve Jobs was taking another leave of absence from the company, citing unspecified health reasons. When the markets opened the next day, Apple stock tanked by more than 5%.
Earlier tonight though, Apple wowed the markets with a record-breaking quarter, earning more than $26 billion in the most recent quarter. We expect the company’s stock to bounce right back when the markets reopen tomorrow morning.
One thing was noticeably absent from the call though: Steve Jobs. The company’s visionary leader left it to COO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer to lead the call and answer the questions of Wall Street’s analysts.
While they asked about everything from Android to Apple’s long-term strategy, not a single analyst asked about Steve Jobs or his health. How could they have not asked about something that has such a profound impact on Apple’s bottom line as the uncertain condition of its high-profile leader?
Perhaps the analysts knew they wouldn’t get any sort of answer from the tight-lipped company. Perhaps they feared that Apple wouldn’t invite them to any more calls or give them any more information if they treaded into the forbidden territory of Steve Jobs.
Regardless, the result is that we know absolutely nothing new about the Apple empire without Steve Jobs at the helm. And that’s exactly how Apple likes it.
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