Buy Apple stock?

TUAW makes the statement: buy Apple stock! Here’s my response:

Something you see a lot on the Fool regularly is that you really need to by stocks by value. And, not just value relative to other stocks, but real value of the business. According to Yahoo, Apple is worth about $30.5 billion right now, even after the 9% drop.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl

Apple earned about $300 million this past quarter. That would work out to $1.2 billion per year. But, adding in more growth and the fact that the 4th quarter is the biggest moneymaker, maybe they can do $1.5-$2.0 billion. Historical price-to-earnings ratio is about 16, and that earnings range puts them between 15 and 20.

What does all of that back of the envelope calculation boil down to? Beats the hell out of me. Just kidding. Actually, AAPL seems like a good value *if* the iPod business or something like it keeps on chugging.

If the economy goes sour, though, I’d bet that fewer people will pony up $250 for a music player.

(This should in no way be construed as financial advice. Talk to your financial professional. Do not eat AAPL.)