Apple has painted itself into a lucrative corner. In its last two quarters, revenue rose by 70 and 80 per cent year-over-year, respectively. Earnings per share expanded still faster. Because the good times have made the company vast by any standard (it is expected to have more than $100bn in revenue this year) the question is how much, not if, growth is going to decelerate in coming quarters. When the company reports, later on Tuesday – and for several more quarters to come – investors should be alert for any clues about how management will handle this transition from absurd to merely exceptional growth.
苹果(Apple)进入了一个“挣钱太多”的困境。上两个季度，该公司营收同比分别增长70%和80%，每股收益则增长得更快。由于该公司在大好形势下形成了庞大的规模——无论以何种标准衡量都堪称一家巨型公司，今年营收据预计将超过1000亿美元——它所面临的问题不是在未来几个季度里增长是否会放缓，而是会放缓多少。该公司本周二发布最新季度业绩。以后在这种时候，投资者应留心各种蛛丝马迹，以判断该公司管理层将如何应对增长从“超乎常理”到仅仅是“出色”的转变。