[Steko]

No there's a huge difference between lying and what Apple does. Apple produces extremely conservative figures that take into account all sorts of negative things that can impact the quarter like some Foxconn factory blows up or gets shut down.

[nobody314159]

If your estimates are always 20% under what you achieve every quarter then you are either deliberately underestimating or your CFO is an idiot.

If you are deliberately underestimating to be conservative - so if there is an earthquake in Japan you can still make the expectation, or you do it to produce a headline, it's equally bad for your shareholders.

Otherwise why not produce figures saying we might sell nothing next quarter -if an asteroid wipes out all life on earth.

Of course it's still a nice position to be in compared to a company lies about making a profit next quarter hoping for a miracle!