AT&T Reports iPhone News, Apple Stock Takes Beating

...and I can't figure out why. According to AT&T's first-quarter financial results, there were 146,000 activations of the iPhone in less than two days. From the report:

Sales of the Apple iPhone have been robust. The June 29 launch allowed for less than two days of sales and activations before the end of the quarter. In that time, AT&T activated 146,000 iPhone subscribers, more than 40 percent of them new subscribers. Sales of the iPhone continue to be strong in July with store traffic above historical levels.

The iPhone was introduced for sale at 6:00 p.m. on June 29 and AT&T's financial quarter ended on June 30. Of course, the stock market reacted to the news and Apple's stock dropped $8.81, according to the NYTimes.

Is the market simply confused between sales, estimated at nearly 700,000 during the weekend, and activations over a shorter time period and hampered by faltering activation servers?

I guess we'll know on Wednesday when Apple reports its own quarterly earnings. It's the only way to be sure.