Vindu Goel, The New York Times:

At 41 years old, Apple is a respected elder of the tech industry. But rather than easing slowly into retirement, the company is going through another growth spurt.

On Wednesday, Apple’s stock surged 5 percent to a record high of $157.14 after it reported surprisingly strong financial results. It is now worth $822 billion, more than any other company in the stock market.

High praise from the New York Times. Interesting.

But:

For Apple, which is far more dependent on hardware sales than other tech leaders, the recent performance is all the more impressive after its dismal 2016, when quarterly revenue fell for the first time in 13 years and the company’s sales in China dropped through the floor.

There it is. That’s the paper I know and love.

And:

“Wall Street is waking up to the reality that the next great product might not be an Apple car or the TV or the Watch,” said Trip Miller of Gullane Capital Partners, which loaded up on Apple shares when they were below $100. “The services business is the next great product.”

See Jared White’s take on Services. At least the NYT recognized that positive.

Moving on:

“Any product they release this year would be successful. There is pent-up replacement demand,” said Amit Daryanani, a hardware analyst with RBC Capital Markets.

A dismal 2016, and it doesn’t matter what they release, it’s all the pent-up replacement demand, not at all a sign of innovation.

Oh, and two last parting shots:

But he said such growth is unlikely to continue in 2019, when excitement about the new iPhones has faded.

And:

The risk is that customers decide to move on from the decade-old iPhone.

Doomed.