Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

[aryayush]

Data Summary

Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

6.9 Million iPhones Sold
Mac Sales Reach All-Time High

CUPERTINO, California—October 21, 2008—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2008 fourth quarter ended September 27, 2008. The Company posted revenue of $7.9 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.14 billion, or $1.26 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $6.22 billion and net quarterly profit of $904 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 34.7 percent, up from 33.6 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 41 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

In accordance with the subscription accounting treatment required by GAAP, the Company recognizes revenue and cost of goods sold for iPhone™ and Apple TV® over their economic lives. Adjusting GAAP sales and product costs to eliminate the impact of subscription accounting, the corresponding non-GAAP measures* for the quarter are $11.68 billion of “Adjusted Sales” and $2.44 billion of “Adjusted Net Income.”

Apple shipped 2,611,000 Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing 21 percent unit growth and 17 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 11,052,000 iPods during the quarter, representing eight percent unit growth and three percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone units sold were 6,892,000 compared to 1,119,000 in the year-ago-quarter.

“Apple just reported one of the best quarters in its history, with a spectacular performance by the iPhone—we sold more phones than RIM,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We don’t yet know how this economic downturn will affect Apple. But we’re armed with the strongest product line in our history, the most talented employees and the best customers in our industry. And $25 billion of cash safely in the bank with zero debt.”

“We’re very pleased to have grown revenue 35 percent and to have generated $9.1 billion in cash in fiscal 2008,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead, visibility is low and forecasting is challenging, and as a result we are going to be prudent in predicting the December quarter. We are providing a wide range for our guidance, targeting revenue of $9.0 to $10.0 billion and earnings per diluted share between $1.06 and $1.35.” Read more…

[Via Apple]


In terms of revenue, they’re now third in the rat race, trailing behind Nokia and Samsung, and ahead of Sony Ericsson and RIM.

[IronManForever]

Great going Apple; now only if they reduced prices a bit on that occasion.

[aryayush]

Would you reduce the prices if you were already going great guns at the current prices?

[IronManForever]

^^

[Pat]

Originally Posted by aryayush

Would you reduce the prices if you were already going great guns at the current prices?

Yea well, they could gain even stronger market share if they reduce the price of their products. Thats a fair argument I guess ?

[aryayush]

I was typing an answer to this question and by the time I was done it had turned into quite a well written (in my opinion anyway) opinion piece, so I turned it over to MacUser to make some money off it.

You may want to check it out. The answer to your question starts from the fifth paragraph, “Given the choice between…”

[krazzy]

Do we get any money for reading that ^^ instead of a normal reply on the forum? .

Anyway it was well written (as always).

[aryayush]

Thank you!

[a_k_s_h_a_y]

Apple should increase prices 2 fold then. And retain the Premium Brand Image and strength it. LOL !!

[Faun]

^^get real ;p

[IronManForever]

Originally Posted by aryayush

You may want to check it out. The answer to your question starts from the fifth paragraph, “Given the choice between…”

But one thing I do NOT understand is that; what about THOSE customers who want to try out a Mac(book), know its strengths and weigh out its weaknesses; who wants to evaluate the environment BEFORE splurging so much money. There's a substantial number of such users, myself included. I cannot put 1299$ to test, I would have agreed on 799$. And what does Apple do? Jobs blandly says that Apple's not here to entertain users like me.

Apple wants to remain the ELITE company; not understanding that it is also getting the "Arrogant" tag.

[krazzy]

^^ You can try out the Macs in Apple Stores. It should give you a good enough idea of how it is. Anyway most people who have used Macs are satisfied with them and have decided to stick with that platform for life. So chances are that you wouldn't be regretting your purchase.

[din]

There is a comment written in the page arya mentioned, and I think thats true

With that said, the Mac mini is the cheapest mac available and rumors are that it hasn't sold well. I am a Mac mini owner and that's the machine that helped me switch 100% to Macs. I love the little buddy, but it didn't reach most people. I think if Apple had made Mac mini commercials, people would notice and it would have sold better. Enough of those "I'm a mac" commercials. Everyone that sees my Mac mini never heard of it, but think is fabulous.

PS : Uncle Din (yes at his old age !!) is planning to go for a mac mini soon !!

[aryayush]

Originally Posted by IronManForever

But one thing I do NOT understand is that; what about THOSE customers who want to try out a Mac(book), know its strengths and weigh out its weaknesses; who wants to evaluate the environment BEFORE splurging so much money. There's a substantial number of such users, myself included. I cannot put 1299$ to test, I would have agreed on 799$. And what does Apple do? Jobs blandly says that Apple's not here to entertain users like me.

Trust me, once you actually use Mac OS X for half an hour, you will like it and, if you can afford them, you will purchase Macs exclsively for the rest of your life. Almost every single Mac user I know has the same story.

As for trying before you guy, dude, who do you think you’re fooling! You wouldn’t buy a machine to try it even if it cost just $200. Are you kidding me! You try stuff by going to the store or borrowing one from a friend and using it for a while, you don’t buy stuff to try them out. We aren’t exactly talking about a cup of coffee here, you know.

Originally Posted by IronManForever

Apple wants to remain the ELITE company; not understanding that it is also getting the "Arrogant" tag.

I’m not a fan of their attitude either but Apple has made it ample clear time and time again that they are an arrogant company, and proudly so. I hate a lot of Apple’s policies and practices and I hate the way they price most of their products—yes.

But when it comes down to it, what matters to me is what kind of products they make and how good their support it. Quality is all that matters to me and I’m willing to pay for it. And, clearly, Apple is second to absolutely no one in the quality department—so as far as I’m concerned, I’m hooked for life.

[iMav]

As far as arrogance bit goes, Guy Kawasaki puts it very eloquently:

"The problem with Apple is when they are doing well they are arrogant & when they are doing poorly they are still ... arrogant. "

[aryayush]

LOL! The height of it was when they shipped a bunch of iPods with a Windows virus on it and later, as an “apology”, said that they were upset with Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses.

“We’re sorry that we broke into your house but, really, we’re upset with you for not having better locks.”

LOL! Get real, dudes.

[IronManForever]

Originally Posted by krazzy

^^ You can try out the Macs in Apple Stores. It should give you a good enough idea of how it is. Anyway most people who have used Macs are satisfied with them and have decided to stick with that platform for life. So chances are that you wouldn't be regretting your purchase.

Okay. Lets see. Still a 1 hour test aint sufficient to check the whole OS is WHAT I believe.

Originally Posted by din

PS : Uncle Din (yes at his old age !!) is planning to go for a mac mini soon !!

Even I thought of buying one. I actually wanted to buy it for the OS as it was the cheapest way to run MAC OSX for me (legally). But then I thought better of it. What I do not like is the Shape/size of the product. I prefer a normal cabby shape OR atleast a Slim-tower shape. A tiffin-box wont look good in my room coupled with my non-apple monitor.

Originally Posted by aryayush

Trust me, once you actually use Mac OS X for half an hour, you will like it and, if you can afford them, you will purchase Macs exclsively for the rest of your life. Almost every single Mac user I know has the same story.

Maybe. Never gone beyond the screenshots so dont know.

Originally Posted by aryayush

As for trying before you guy, dude, who do you think you’re fooling! You wouldn’t buy a machine to try it even if it cost just $200. Are you kidding me! You try stuff by going to the store or borrowing one from a friend and using it for a while, you don’t buy stuff to try them out. We aren’t exactly talking about a cup of coffee here, you know.

Well, If you know better about me.

I swear I am willing to put my money to buy and experience a Mac. In other words, to try a Mac; thats what you call it when you do it for the first time and arent sure about it?? But I am crippled by the prices WHICH even you do not praise that much.

And as I said, I was willing to buy a Mac Mini(or the False-799$-Macbook) simply because it was well within my budget and the AVERAGE hardware that lies inside it does not bother me as its plenty fast for the well optimised Mac OSX (Yeah, I do feel so). If it did not work for me, I always had the BootCamp in it. And if it worked well for me, I might as well buy other stuff such as a MacBook or an iMac. Thats how things go isnt it? So, in a way; Apple might have lost a potential life-long customer.
And dont say that I'm bluffing. I may be the next member of the Apple Discussion thread.
BTW I have thought to buy a PC-netbook this year. And look out for a good Macbook as my primary laptop later.

Originally Posted by aryayush

But when it comes down to it, what matters to me is what kind of products they make and how good their support it. Quality is all that matters to me and I’m willing to pay for it. And, clearly, Apple is second to absolutely no one in the quality department—so as far as I’m concerned, I’m hooked for life.

+1(seriously, )
=>Theres no doubt about the fact that Apple makes the best Macs out there; even diehard WinBoys can't deny it.

[MetalheadGautham]

Originally Posted by aryayush

LOL! The height of it was when they shipped a bunch of iPods with a Windows virus on it and later, as an “apology”, said that they were upset with Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses.

“We’re sorry that we broke into your house but, really, we’re upset with you for not having better locks.”

LOL! Get real, dudes.

They should do such things more often.
THATSwhat I call cool. Apple suddenly won some respect from me.

[aditya.shevade]

Why does every apple related thread turn into a debate?

[IronManForever]

^^ Debate? What - Where?

[goobimama]

Okay. Lets see. Still a 1 hour test aint sufficient to check the whole OS is WHAT I believe.

I pretty much lived in the Apple store before I got my first iBook. They are extremely patient people.

What I do not like is the Shape/size of the product. I prefer a normal cabby shape OR atleast a Slim-tower shape. A tiffin-box wont look good in my room coupled with my non-apple monitor.

What the… why… what? Serious? Steve Jobs would crumble to the ground if he heard that.

In any case, the Mac Mini was always meant for PC users who want to test the waters. Who don't want to buy new monitors, keyboard, etc. Once you are comfortable with the OS, get a better mac (like our friend Preshit did). So how is Apple to blame in this? And lest you forget, there is a $999 MacBook which comes up to 55k or so. If you care about the aluminium enclosure, and the cool new features, then there's a premium attached to that.

I wonder what a $800 MacBook would look like or be like…

Originally Posted by aditya.shevade

Why does every apple related thread turn into a debate?

Cause it's the only interesting thing to debate about. The rest is all… like… like boiled potatoes.

[IronManForever]

Originally Posted by goobimama

What the… why… what? Serious? Steve Jobs would crumble to the ground if he heard that.

In any case, the Mac Mini was always meant for PC users who want to test the waters. Who don't want to buy new monitors, keyboard, etc. Once you are comfortable with the OS, get a better mac (like our friend Preshit did). So how is Apple to blame in this? And lest you forget, there is a $999 MacBook which comes up to 55k or so. If you care about the aluminium enclosure, and the cool new features, then there's a premium attached to that.

I wonder what a $800 MacBook would look like or be like…

I seriously considered the Mini to test the waters as you put it. And yeah, it would be damn intresting for my noob friends to wonder what it actually is. But yeah, for me its just okay; not the best Apple could do.

Originally Posted by goobimama

I wonder what a $800 MacBook would look like or be like…

Pretty much like the 999$ mac. Without an Optical drive, with wireless N and a smaller screen, 1024x600. And of course Mac OSX.

[aryayush]

Yeah, that’s not how Apple rolls.

[MetalheadGautham]

Mini ? Its configuration is as bad as some of these assembled PCs I see in the market that n00bs buy - Intel 945GC motherboard, Core2Duo E4600 and 1GB RAM with 80GB HDD.

THAT I consider horrible. Atleast apple could have released a slim tower with 160GB HDD, 2GB RAM and G31 chipset. I am sure it would actually cost LESS than the macmini to build. And it would seem cheaper than normal PCs, if apple ships it with iLife and OSX.

[Faun]

old practices die hard

[IronManForever]

Originally Posted by MetalheadGautham

THAT I consider horrible. Atleast apple could have released a slim tower with 160GB HDD, 2GB RAM and G31 chipset. I am sure it would actually cost LESS than the macmini to build. And it would seem cheaper than normal PCs, if apple ships it with iLife and OSX.

Yeah, thats pretty much what I'd want, a slim tower; but if wishes were Apple.. I have nothing against the configuration, why should I? Mac Mini is definitely NOT for gaming or workstation scenario.

Though, the configuration you mentioned would not cost more than the MacMini looking at the current Hardware prices.. But what I think apple fears is; it might overshadow Apple iMac line-up. And as far as I know; many would-be buyers iMac would be tempted to buy the MacSlim for using it with their own choice of monitors..

[MetalheadGautham]

Originally Posted by IronManForever

Yeah, thats pretty much what I'd want, a slim tower; but if wishes were Apple.. I have nothing against the configuration, why should I? Mac Mini is definitely for gaming or workstation scenario.

Though, the configuration you mentioned would not cost more than the MacMini looking at the current Hardware prices.. But what I think apple fears is; it might overshadow Apple iMac line-up. And as far as I know; many would-be buyers iMac would be tempted to buy the MacSlim for using it with their own choice of monitors..

Not exactly. The iMac has some laptop parts, right ? But a cheap slim tower would purely be a desktop. And it would be devoid of a dedicated graphics solution.

[IronManForever]

^^ Why? You think iMacs are used by people who want to run Crysis or top the 3dMark Vantage records? Do you think people would care whether there iMac runs on laptop or dektp parts? That too Apple users?

MANY users who want to have a Mac OSX running desktop will turn to that Kinda MacSlim rather than an iMac. The MacSLim should be able to appeal those users who want to enter the mac scenario but are put off my the Mac Mini (like me). And as far as I believe there are a considerable amount of people feeling that way.

ADDED: My previous post has been edited for the following error... The word in RED was missed out.

I have nothing against the configuration, why should I? Mac Mini is definitely NOT for gaming or workstation scenario.

[MetalheadGautham]

Originally Posted by IronManForever

^^ Why? You think iMacs are used by people who want to run Crysis or top the 3dMark Vantage records? Do you think people would care whether there iMac runs on laptop or dektp parts? That too Apple users?

MANY users who want to have a Mac OSX running desktop will turn to that Kinda MacSlim rather than an iMac. The MacSLim should be able to appeal those users who want to enter the mac scenario but are put off my the Mac Mini (like me). And as far as I believe there are a considerable amount of people feeling that way.

ADDED: My previous post has been edited for the following error... The word in RED was missed out.

Well... what if iMac was offered with Intel Nehalem and HD4870 graphics, while MacSlim was left with Athlon X2 4850e CPU and 780G chipset/graphics ?

[IronManForever]

^^ The MacSlim, as I see it, is plausible.. But the iMac with Nehalem and HD4870..