Apple issued a rare statement Thursday in response to the proposals to and subsequent lawsuit against the company by Greenlight Capitol manager David Einhorn. Apple's statement addresses claims by Mr. Einhorn that an upcoming shareholder proposal would eliminate the company's ability to issue preferred stock.

Apple's results for the first fiscal quarter of 2013 sent the stock spiraling, despite record numbers in both revenue and profit. Statistics firm Statista released a chart Thursday hoping to put Apple's "disappointing" quarter, in which it beat all U.S. companies in terms of profit, in context.

Apple and Samsung have once again turned it up to 11 to control all of the smartphone industry profit. According to Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley, the two companies took more than 100 percent of the market's profit for all of 2012.

Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu told clients on Tuesday that Apple needs to think different[ly] about making a larger iPhone, arguing that the company has ceded perceived control of the high end of the smartphone market.

Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes told his clients on Monday to expect Apple to release a 5-inch iPhone—or iPhablet—in either the last quarter of 2013 or the first quarter of 2014. He said that the form factor is popular enough that Apple will not be able to ignore it.

Shares in Apple Inc. continued to sell off on Friday, shedding another 2.36 percent to end the week at US$439.88, down $10.62 on heavy volume of 42.3 million shares trading hands. The move results in Apple's market cap falling below ExxonMobil's for the first time since the spring of 2012.

Apple's earning report didn't please regular session investors any more than it did Wednesday's after-hours traders, as they sent the stock plummeting 12.35 percent to US$450.50, a drop of $63.505 per share. Analysts spent the day digesting Apple's earning report and jockeying for position in amidst all the bearish sentiment.

Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley looked at Apple's March quarter expectations, and while he called it "soft," he also saw it as a possible hint that an new iPhone model is coming soon.

Apple's executive team said the company is abandoning the under-promise-over-deliver style financial guidance that it's know for and instead will be offering what they say will be more realistic guidance for investors and analysts. That change will leave at least some analysts worried, but in the end will be a good thing for the company and everyone that follows its stock, according to Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um.

Apple is facing the prospect of cannibalizing its own product sales, which has some analysts worried. Company CEO Tim Cook, however, doesn't see that as a problem and instead welcomes the idea.