Apple's 'Darkest Day' Just Turned Into Dark 3 Months

Thursday was called the "darkest day" for Apple under Tim Cook. Now the bigger picture from the end of 2018 is emerging, and it's similarly stunning. CNBC reports that in the three months since Oct. 3, Apple's market capitalization losses have reached $452 billion, with Apple shares plunging nearly 40% in that same period. That market capitalization loss is more than the individual value of Facebook—and of each of 495 other companies in the S&P 500. The loss is more than three times greater than the value of McDonald's, more than five times that of Costco, and more than 10 times the value of Raytheon.

Only four companies—Microsoft, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and Alphabet—can currently claim bigger market caps than Apple's loss. Still, financial advisers are generally telling clients who hold Apple stock to hang in there, with some claiming the company's current woes are mainly self-contained in China, per Business Insider. "Despite slowing iPhone sales, we still anticipate Apple will continue to grow its install base and believe the company's ecosystem will contribute to ongoing growth, particularly for higher-margin services and other products," says one analyst. (An Apple rival inadvertently promoted the iPhone.)