蘋果的股價最近開始走低了。據全美廣播公司財經頻道（CNBC）報道，蘋果股價本周一再次小幅下跌，標志著該公司的股價已經連續8天走低，這也是1998年以來，蘋果股票連日下跌時間最長的一次。

這里我們不妨再回顧一下歷史：1998年的那一次，正好是喬幫主重新執掌公司的一年后，和iPod、iPhone和iPad大賣之前的那段時間。而此次更糟糕的是，蘋果股價于本周一收于93.64美元，基本上已經回到了四年前的水平。

或許正是股價下跌的壓力，才刺激得CEO蒂姆?庫克今天走進了CNBC的直播間，花些時間與主持人吉姆?克萊默聊聊蘋果的未來。除了股價壓力之外，庫克之所以要親自上鏡造勢，也可能是由于華爾街的整體氛圍于己不利，因為華爾街分析師們對蘋果的態度正傾向于愈加負面。

在4月26日的收益電話會議上，蘋果承認iPhone手機的年銷量出現了首次下降，公司營收入也出現了2003年以來的首次下跌。而在今天的采訪中，庫克的說詞與上次收益電話會議相比毫無新意，依舊是一臉的樂觀和那幾個老調重彈的借口——強勢美元，中國經濟的疲軟，以及現有iPhone用戶選擇升級新款手機的比率下降等等。

“這是幾個因素共同作用的結果。”庫克對克萊默表示。

同時庫克也再次重復了他的一貫論調，他表示蘋果用戶從來沒有像今天這樣對公司的產品如此滿意，而且蘋果還有一些尚未發布的殺手锏級秘密武器讓他感到“超級興奮”，其中也包括新iPhone。他表示：“我們將會為你帶來一些你再也離不開的東西，只不過今天你還不知道自己需要它們。”看克萊默的神色，對這話似乎頗有幾分懷疑。

庫克還指出，印度是一個重大的市場，而且其潛力尚未充分發掘。他還指出，印度將在2022年成為全球人口最多的國家。

不過在庫克的侃侃而談中，絕對沒有任何新東西或是什么令人興奮的東西。本周一，華盛頓最有名望的華爾街蘋果分析師托尼?薩科納西給庫克執政以來的這幾年打了個分。雖然這張成績單表面上有批評也有表揚，但批評的部分顯然要比表揚更有說服力。

這位分析師寫道：“投資者們認為，蘋果已經失去了自己的市場‘魔咒’。管理層傳達出的前后矛盾的信息令人越來越擔憂，另外它的產品創新速度太慢，而且蘋果在中國的大熱時代也已經結束。此外最重要的是，iPhone的利潤似乎已經到頂了。”

薩科納西認為，庫克已經失去了許多投資者的信任。一年前，庫克曾經表示，iPhone用戶的升級率并沒有任何不尋常的升高跡象。而在蘋果最近一次與分析師的收益電話會議上，他不僅以去年的iPhone升級率出現了不尋常的升高作為今年銷量下降的借口，甚至干脆抵賴了自己去年說過的話（“你說我說過關于升級周期之類的這些話，但我不記得自己曾說過這些話。”）

一度被奉為運營大師的庫克，似乎也在為供需平衡的問題而頭痛。上個季度，蘋果大大提高了iPhone的庫存，而這個季度又在計劃大砍庫存。另外，蘋果似乎還低估了消費者對它的最低配——iPhone SE手機的需求，因為潛在買主不得不等上幾個星期才能等到新訂單到貨。

當被問道他是否認為華爾街錯估了對蘋果未來的預期時，庫克耍了一回太極：“華爾街是由許許多多的人組成的，所以那里有很多不同的觀點，我不確定那里會有一種觀點是普遍的。”

到采訪結束時，蘋果股價在當日午后交易中幾乎原地踏步。或許蘋果的投資者真正需要的，是讓蘋果把更多精力放在產品創新和供應鏈規劃上，少花些心思在投資者關系、股票回股和操縱輿論這些事上。（財富中文網）

譯者：樸成奎

Apple’s stock price is in the dumps. A small drop on Monday marked the eighth consecutive daily loss for the company, the longest such losing streak since 1998, according to CNBC.

In case you need a historical refresher: That was a year after Steve Jobs returned to the company, but before the great run of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. To make matters worse, Apple’s shares, which closed at $93.64 on Monday, are around where they traded four years ago.

Maybe the depressed stock price is what prompted CEO Tim Cook to visit CNBC’s studios today and spend some time chatting with host Jim Cramer about Apple’s future. It also may have been the vibe coming from Wall Street, where analysts are increasingly negative about Apple AAPL -0.11% .

But Cook spent the entire interview repeating the same optimism mixed with excuses that he gave on the company’s April 26 earnings call, when Apple reported its first ever year-over-year decline in iPhone sales and its first revenue decline since 2003. It’s that darn stronger dollar, the weak economy in China, and a temporary slowdown in the rate of iPhone owners upgrading to new models.

“A confluence of items in there,” Cook told Cramer.

He repeated his standard argument that Apple customers have never been more satisfied with the company’s products and that he was super excited about some of the secret, unannounced gadgets to come including new iPhones. “We’re going to give you things that you can’t live without that you just don’t know you need today,” Cook told a skeptical Cramer.

Cook also pointed to India as a major untapped market, which he noted would become the most populous nation in the world in 2022.

But there was absolutely nothing new or surprising in Cook’s chatter. Earlier on Monday, Toni Sacconaghi, one of the most respected Wall Street Apple analysts, put out a report card on Cook’s recent tenure, and while the note ostensibly included both highs and lows, the critique was considerably more convincing than his praise.

“Investors believe Apple has lost its marketplace ‘mojo’, management’s inconsistent messages are increasingly worrisome, product innovation is too slow, Apple’s China run is over, and – most importantly – that iPhone profits have likely peaked,” the analyst wrote.

Cook has lost credibility with investors, according to Sacconaghi. A year ago, Cook said there was no unusual increase in iPhone upgrade rates. On Apple’s most recent call with analysts, not only did he cite an unusually high upgrade rate from last year as an excuse for this year’s drop in sales, but he even denied saying what he had said last year (“I don’t recall saying the things that you said I said about the upgrade cycles.”)

Cook, once considered an operations guru, also appears to be struggling to match supply and demand. Apple excessively increased iPhone inventory last quarter and plans a huge cut this quarter. It also appears to have underestimated demand for its new lowest price model, the SE, Sacconaghi noted, as potential buyers have been forced to wait for weeks for new orders to ship.

Asked by Cramer if he thought Wall Street was wrong about Apple’s future, Cook punted. “Wall Street is a collection of people, right, so there are many different viewpoints in there,” he said. “I’m not sure there is a common one.”

By the end of the interview, Apple’s share price had barely moved in after hours trading. Maybe what Apple investors really need is more focus at Apple on product innovation and supply chain planning and perhaps less on investor relations, stock buybacks, and spin.