Can Nasdaq Drag Apple Down?

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Mar 26, 6:43AM EDT

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The Nasdaq had its largest drop in months, and many analysts have predicted more of the same. Earnings forecasts are too weak. Multiples are too high. The economy cannot keep an expansion pace of 3% or 4% in gross domestic product (GDP). The world economy will drag down America’s, or the consumer is not willing to pile technology on more technology. He has had his fill of consumer electronics, social media and e-commerce. Optimists about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) believe the company can dodge all of this. Its innovation pace and current products are irresistible.

There is a market theory that a collapse drags down all stocks, just as a rising market does the same for most boats. The Nasdaq has reached as high as during the tech bubble. Also, Apple has reached an all-time high as well. With a market cap of more than $700 billion, which some think will reach $1 trillion, it is too big to fail. It will continue to expand sales by well into the double digits. Its earnings will continue to best those of any other public company ever. Sales of the iPhone will reach 100 million in a quarter, based on sales in China, to some extent, and to features that make it an essential product for consumers.

ALSO READ: iPhone 6 Survey Shows That Apple Is Not the Only Big Tech Winner

For Apple to maintain its share price, or even for the stock to rise, Wall Street has to assume that Apple does not have a rival as far as the success of its business model is concerned. Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) has competition in the social media world. Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) market share in search has reached a top, and regulators have targeted it as a monopoly, as they did to Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) a generation ago. Apple has a sort of competition, regulation and economic immunity.

There is, however, evidence that Apple is not immune to the same factors that move other stocks. Its share price dropped about the same as the Nasdaq did recently. When the sales of its products were in doubt last winter, Apple shares retreated from $118 to $106 in a month. Apple’s future is open to anxiety about its prospects just as much as any other company. As a matter of fact, the company has done so well that the anxiety may be more acute than for many other tech companies.

If the Nasdaq collapses, Apple is likely to be dragged down. It may be a special company, but not special enough to defy gravity.

ALSO READ: Why Apple Shares Could Drop Back to $100

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.