Though Apple's shares took a US$ 377.5 million dip this early into 2008, Steve Jobs sent out words of encouragement to Apple employees. The CEO remarked that the losses the company incurred were caused by outside factors far and beyond the company's own significance and that investors who continue to stay with the company will be rewarded as soon as market confidence is restored.

"As you can see, we have outperformed many other blue-chip tech companies, including Google," said Jobs, trying to restore investor enthusiasm after the recent losses incurred in Wall Street. He then put Apple's performance for the past 24 months into retrospect, concluding the reminiscing with:

I continue to believe that our fundamentals - our remarkable people, our clear and focused strategy, our new product pipeline, our 200+ retail stores, our $18 billion of cash in the bank with no debt, etc., will serve us well in the coming months and years.

It should be noted that Jobs also holds a significant amount of shares in Apple and was hit the just as hard by the share dive. His 5.54 million shares are second to Fidelity Investments, making Apple's creative spark the single largest shareholder of the company - as an individual.

Jobs' final parting notes to investors: "I believe that investors who stay with us will be rewarded as the market's confidence is restored over time... Hang in there."