Dudes, It’s AAPL, Not APPL!
I have a major pet peeve with people who constantly refer to Apple’s stock as “APPL” instead of its true stock ticker, “AAPL”. While it just might make more sense for it to be APPL, the truth is that it’s not. So when I see news media, stock promoters and others talk about whether Apple’s stock is too high, too low, or just right (to use Goldilocks terms…), and then follow it up with (NASDAQ: APPL), it drives me a little nutty. My feeling is that if you’re willing to spend over $160 a share on a stock, likely investing thousands of dollars, you should do a little research, and that starts with getting the stock ticker right.
And in case you think I’m reacting to isolated incidents, let me assure you I’m not.
For example:
Fox News: October 4
“…the Commonwealth Bank, has used the latest version of Apple’s (APPL) music player…”CNN/Dow Jones: October 4
“…Paid downloads of Fox series also are available on Apple Inc.’s (APPL) iTunes…CNBC: October 2
“I’ve made some serious fast money on some trades but haven’t pulled the trigger on some others. For example: Research In Motion (RIMM), NVIDIA (NVDA), EMC Corp (EMC), Blue Nile (NILE), & Apple (APPL)…”Barrons: October 1
“That’s less lofty an earnings multiple than a pop star like Apple (APPL) boasts…”Investors Business Daily: September 28
“Apple (APPL) issued a software update for its iPhones…”
It’s practically an epidemic. Google reports the error as having occurred hundreds of times, even if you include the word NASDAQ. For a company worth nearly $150 billion at the end of market close today, it’s surprising to me that this kind of mistake continues to be made on a daily basis in otherwise outstanding business publications. Can you imagine if they started stating Microsoft’s ticker symbol as MFST or Google as GOG? Give Apple the respect it deserves, and get it right. It’s AAPL.
Jesse on October 8th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Umm… do you still understand what they are talking about even if the letters are wrong? If so, then who really cares? I like this blog but I’d like to see a little more substance than things like this, which have been appearing a lot lately here.
Jim on October 8th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
slow news day, eh? ;-)
I don’t mind stuff like this once in a while… it breaks things up – as long as it doesn’t become the norm.
Louis Gray on October 8th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Of course I understand it when they say APPL. But it’s still annoying. As for style vs. substance… it’s a blog. There will still be a fair share of product reviews here and other news, no question. But this is an issue I haven’t seen addressed of late.
Bie Kipper on October 8th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
@Jesse
Because a mistake is being reported and disseminated as fact. That, in itself, is substantial and indicative of the laziness of the media to verify information before posting it, which is the bigger problem, IMO.
Marco on October 8th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
And that’s also why Appell Pete Group (APPL.PK) is receiving nothing but unrelated Apple Corp. stories in its Yahoo stock news feed…
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=APPL.PK
Billy Halsey on October 9th, 2007 at 12:03 am
Great article, Louis. I haven’t personally seen it referred to as APPL (especially by media) but that’s horrendous and should definitely be corrected.
Charity Froggenhall on October 9th, 2007 at 8:32 am
According to Bloomberg data, APPL US is the ticker for Appell Petroleum Corp. Your trivia bit o’ the day!
Charity Froggenhall on October 9th, 2007 at 8:33 am
Oops, sorry, Marco, didn’t see your comment above…
Marco on October 9th, 2007 at 8:38 am
That’s okay Charity – your name just brightened my day!
cheers
pdq on October 9th, 2007 at 11:36 am
While we’re at it, could we please tell people it’s not a “MAC”?
“PC” is in caps because it’s an acronym, folks. “MAC” is also an acronym, but one used in networking which has nothing to do with Macs.
Actually, the one useful thing about people using “MAC” when they are referring to Mac computers is that it is a fairly reliable indicator that their actual experience with Macs is near-zero, and so their (usually negative) pontifications regarding the “MAC” are usually data-and-experience-free “BS”.
MCJE on October 9th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
I wonder if APPL stock goes up after new Apple products come out. Sort of a halo effect because people buy the wrong stock.
Interestingly, my Stocks widget can’t find APPL.
Louis Gray on October 12th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
And look – one more… sigh.
APPL ready for third-party apps?
http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/mt/archives/2007/10/newswatch_10120.php
Ethan on March 28th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Why is it aapl? Where does the extra a come from? Usually the ticker makes more sense. If anyone can tell me why there are two A’s, they get one abstract dollar.