Shares of Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) were down as much as $2 during normal and after-hours trading yesterday after the company announced the delay of Leopard, its new Mac operating system. The company explained that Leopard will now be out in October, in time to capture the all-important Christmas sales for the Mac.

The reason given for the delay is Apple's focus on delivering the iPhone in time for a June release. The company took several software engineers off the Leopard project to help finish the software necessary for the iPhone. The iPhone will be the most sophisticated hand-held device on the market and therefore, software intensive. Apple basically made the choice of which product, Mac OS or iPhone, is more important for a "timely release". Obviously, iPhone is the winner.

The financial implications for Apple on the Leopard delay are negligible. According to Goldman Sachs analyst David C. Bailey, the sales of Leopard being delayed could cost Apple about $75-100 million in the September 30th quarter. Those revenues should be recaptured in the December 31st quarter as long as Apple ships Leopard in early October. Overall revenue expectations for the quarter ending September 30th are about $6 billion, so the delay should not affect the earnings for that quarter.

The gossip on the Street will be at a minimum as Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) had a delay "in the years" for Vista as opposed to Apple's "delay in months" for the Leopard. Nonetheless, some will attempt to make this appear as bad news.

Apple shares did begin to bounce back in late trading as the revenue impact is quite minimal.

Georges Yared is the CIO of Yared Investment Research