Apple Inc (AAPL)

Perceived headwinds were weak Chinese demand and weak demand for the new phone, but the story is more about the services stream and its strong revenues. Plus, China turned out to be just fine.

A no-growth, but overall a good quarter they just delivered. Their services revenues are up 16%, a higher-margin business than hardware. You must consider services when you look at Apple. Their long-awaited multiple expansion is here now.

It beat estimates last night, but offered weaker guidance and declining revenues. And yet it is down less than 1% today. Why? The put-to-call skew was at the 80th percentile, favouring puts. We haven't had this kind of bearish representation for Apple in 5 years. The market needed something really bearish in the Apple report to extend negative sentiment.

Transitioned well from products to services. Once you're in the ecosystem, it's hard to get out and you'll just pay the higher price for services. Services side will continue to grow, even if weak product numbers. Growth may slow down a bit. He'd welcome returning some of their vast amounts of money to shareholders.

Are concerns with how hot the new phone is. There may be a software upgrade to fix that, but not sure. Some consumers are holding off on buying. Meanwhile, in China, Apple faces competition from Huawei whose sales are rising. Watch earnings on Thursday.

Questions on whether iPhone can growth further. Ability to sell services to wide range of customers since everybody owns an iPhone. Very good business. Will hold for the long term. 

It reports Thursday and that could determine what happens in tech until Nvidia reports on Nov. 21. That's how important Apple is. It needs to deliver a good quarter and one that the market will give credit for. But many are betting it will slash its forecast.

He just bought Apple puts. They report next week and he expects their comments to be negative. In China, Huawei is gathering market share from Apple, while Beijing is saying, Don't buy Apple phones. That's why Apple phone production is shifting from China to India. Apple is not showing growth in hardware. Same with services. The stock is overvalued. That said, if share get crushed next week, he would be the first to buy them, because there's an insatiable appetite for them.

He's been writing many calls on this the past 3 months. If this pulls back next Thursday when it reports, he will add to his holding. Earnings may not be great, but he will own this the long term. Also, the PE has declined.

It trades at a premium, because they have durable earnings. It just broke below its 200-day moving average, and she expects weakness going into next Thursday's report. But she would buy on weakness after this report.

There are some increased tensions between the U.S. and China and the latest i-phone is not selling as well as expected. However it has great cash flow and is profitable. It has a good future and upside potential on the services side. You could wait because of the the macro environment.

The chart looks terrible and it can easily go to $165. It's had a good return this year vs. its megatech peers, but she wants to see topline growth. You can't ignore the technical weakness though.

He's been trimming it when it gets expensive, and remains neutral. Apple is a great business, but some of their businesses are decelerrating. They have huge cash balances, though. He's long term.

No question that tensions between the US and China effect Apple. Apple shares are down only 1% this morning. Foxxconn, remember, is a top 10 employer in China and Foxxconn builds a lot of iPhones for Apple. The market knows this. So, Apple is struggling in China? No. Apple remains one of the best-run companies in the world, and they have earned their premium valuation.

When this was reported this morning, the Nasdaq features dipped briefly only. There's enough broad strength in the megatechs that tech will be resilient, even if Apple becomes the weak link among tech.