Last week's analysis on AAPL was faulty, especially given the timeframe. Going back to March of 2009, AAPL has indeed out-performed the Q's, as the chart below clearly illustrates.
Looking back over the last year, however, AAPL has not been able to break away from the Q's with any significance, despite its being one of the most profitable companies (if not the most profitable company) in the US.
How is this possible? Have ETF's and mutual funds levelled the playing field to such an extent that even a great company like Apple can't break free from what is probably the most generic market the world has ever seen? What will happen to AAPL if we get the collapse that so many have been predicting?
Apple may be an alpha company but the stock certainly isn't performing like one, at least not in the last year. It wouldn't be out of line to predict that if the markets crash, AAPL will go along for the ride.
