DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: Shares of Apple computer have seen their value cut almost in half in pre-market trading. Earnings will fall short of expectations by as much as a third. Steve Young has more.</s>STEVE YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The stunning earnings warning from the "comeback kid" is likely to turn Apple and a lot of other technology stocks into apple sauce. Apple may have cool products like the multicolored iMac and the G4 cube, but the company says its performance for the quarter ending this month will be substantially below expectations. Apple cites three reasons: slow September sales due to a global business slowdown, Apple's core education business also slower than expected, and its G4 cube computer off to a slow start. Apple now projects $110 million in earnings before investments instead of $165 million, a shortfall of 33 percent. In an understatement, CEO Steve Jobs says, "we've clearly hit a speed bump."</s>MEGAN GRAHAM-HACKETT, S&P; EQUITY GROUP: The fact that they guided guidance down makes it sound like it is not a one-quarter issue. And the fact that they didn't explain further on what was driving that future impact on their supposed revenue growth going forward, that was also a surprise.</s>YOUNG: Apple's G4 cube has been a big hit in the computer world since its unveiling this summer, praised for its design, power and innovation, but it clearly wasn't moving off the shelves. One big reason could be it costs several hundred dollars more than a PC with equivalent power. Apple hasn't said if it thinks it was price that slowed down sales. Apple's stock was trading at about $30 a year ago, peaked above $70 back in March, finished the regular session at $53.50, but in after-hours trading has been squashed. (on camera): Apple says its CEO Steve Jobs and chief financial officer Fred Anderson will have nothing more to say to investors or Wall Street analysts -- no conference call, no more statements. Steve Young, CNN Financial News, New York.
Apple Shares Plummet More Than 40 Percent After Earnings Warning