Stocks Fall After Apple's First Sales Decline in 15 Years, New Home Sales Rise

New York (Oct 26)  Stocks were down for another day on Wednesday after Apple (AAPL) , the biggest weight on the S&P 500, posted a so-so quarter.

The S&P 500 was down 0.41%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq slid 0.56%.

Apple fell more than 3% after nudging past earnings and sales estimates in its fiscal fourth quarter. The world's largest company earned $1.67 a share, 2 cents above estimates, while revenue of $46.9 billion came in roughly in line. Revenue fell 9% from a year earlier, though, as sales of iPhones dropped. Profit and sales declined for the first time in 15 years.

The number of iPhones sold over the recent quarter came in above projections with 45.5 million units sold over the quarter. Analysts predicted 44.8 million units to have been sold. The number of iPhones sold fell 5% from a year earlier, their third straight quarter in decline. Services revenue, largely seen as a growth driver for Apple, climbed 24% over the quarter.

First-quarter sales guidance between $76 billion and $78 billion came in above estimates of $75 billion. The company also expects a drop in gross margins to 38% to 38.5% in the first quarter, down from 40.1% a year earlier.

TheStreet's Jim Cramer, whose Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio includes Apple, said he and co-manager Jack Mohr are taking "a longer view on the company's growth evolution, which is why we were encouraged by the company's Services business. The segment continued to deliver explosive growth on an accelerating basis, increasing 24% year over year to $6.3 billion."

Source: TheStreet