Apple (AAPL) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $2.40, which came in better than street expectations of $2.36. Apple has beaten earnings expectations for the 8th straight quarter now. 
It was a smaller than average earnings beat however, only 1.7% above expectations compared to the 8 quarter average of 3.8%. 
The growth rate at 10%, was above the 8 quarter average of 8%. 
Q4 sales came in at $124.3 billion, which was slightly above street expectations of $124.257 billion. Apple has also beaten sales expectations for 8 straight quarters. 
But the beat rate was below the 8 quarter average of 0.8%. Apple’s business is so heavily researched that analyst expectations are usually pretty spot on. 
Apple’s days of being a growth company are long gone. But sales growth (at 4%) came in above the 8 quarter average that consisted of 4 of the 8 quarters showing negative growth or no growth at all. 
So how does things look from here? The stock opened higher about 5% this morning but has been pulling back so far. Looking ahead, the street is currently expecting about 9% EPS growth and 6% sales growth over the next 4 quarters (EPS is below the market average, while sales expectations are slightly above). While the forward PE based on this mornings gap up is around 33x. Which means the PE to growth ratio is around 4. This is another “mag 7” stock whose PEG ratio is getting pretty “frothy” or overvalued.I had mentioned the $236 area as a potential short term support level on LinkedIn a few weeks back. The stock pulled back a bit more on the unexpected report of slowing growth in China. But its back above.Another solid company whose stock isn’t all that compelling at current prices. Above market valuations for below average growth isn’t something that draws me in. A lot of these companies are priced near perfection now. It’s too a point where the hype may be getting to be too much.More By This Author:Inflation Remains Stubbornly High, But Incomes & Spending Data Stay Solid Economy Slows To A 2.3% Growth Rate In Q4, Consumer Still Strong Tesla Earnings Breakdown
