Continued..."We think this strength in the [business] model could keep investors interested in [the] coming weeks," J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz wrote in a note.
Moskowitz, who had forecast Apple to sell 4.9 million iPhones in the quarter, raised his rating on Apple's stock to overweight last week. On Wednesday, he said that Apple's momentum with the iPhone, as well as the iPod and Mac computers "could help the company weather the macro [economic] storm better than most of its peers in coming quarters."
Still, some analysts chose to remain cautious about the outlook for the iPhone, even while lauding its sales.
Tavis McCourt of Morgan Keegan called the iPhone results "a home run," and that increased sales should help Apple reach annual earnings of $8 to $9 a share within a few years. However, McCourt tempered some of his enthusiasm by saying that iPhone shipment levels could decline over the next couple of quarters due to the uncertain worldwide economy.
Some analysts said that Apple's results were helped by the company pushing more of the 3G iPhones into the retail channel after the company stopped taking orders on the first-generation model in advance of the 3G version's launch in July. BMO Capital Markets analyst Keith Bachman said that Apple's iPhone sales were positive, but that shipments in the current quarter might decline because of the company's efforts to supply its channel partners with the first batch of 3G iPhones. End.
Source
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Apple's iPhone seen as new growth driver
By Rex Crum
Apple Inc. has had a good run for several years, first due to booming sales of the iPod and then the growing strength of its Mac computers.
While those products are still selling well, it now appears to be the iPhone's turn to become the standout product and complete the third leg of the company's business strategy.
Signs of that were apparent with Apple's (AAPL 96.38, -1.85, -1.9%) fourth-quarter report late Tuesday. It reported selling 6.9 million iPhones over the three-month period that included the release of the 3G version of the iPhone, in July, up from 1.1 million iPhone sales in the same period a year ago.
The performance was enough to get Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs to make an almost-unheard of appearance on Apple's earnings conference call. Jobs highlighted that Apple's iPhone sales were greater than the 6.1 million BlackBerry smart phones Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM 44.96, -1.24, -2.7%) sold in its most-recent quarter, and that Apple is now the world's No. 3 mobile-phone vendor, in terms of revenue.
"Who knows what the future will be given the worldwide economic slowdown?" the executive said. "But we ranked as the third-largest mobile-phone supplier in revenues. Not bad for being in the market for only 15 months."
Several analysts that follow Apple said that the iPhone had a breakout quarter, exceeding many forecasts by 2 million units. Additionally, Apple has begun recognizing revenue from iPhone sales over a two-year "economic life" of the devices, and such sales contributed to $4.6 billion to the company's adjusted revenue for the quarter of $11.68 billion.Continued...
Apple Inc. has had a good run for several years, first due to booming sales of the iPod and then the growing strength of its Mac computers.
While those products are still selling well, it now appears to be the iPhone's turn to become the standout product and complete the third leg of the company's business strategy.
Signs of that were apparent with Apple's (AAPL 96.38, -1.85, -1.9%) fourth-quarter report late Tuesday. It reported selling 6.9 million iPhones over the three-month period that included the release of the 3G version of the iPhone, in July, up from 1.1 million iPhone sales in the same period a year ago.
The performance was enough to get Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs to make an almost-unheard of appearance on Apple's earnings conference call. Jobs highlighted that Apple's iPhone sales were greater than the 6.1 million BlackBerry smart phones Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM 44.96, -1.24, -2.7%) sold in its most-recent quarter, and that Apple is now the world's No. 3 mobile-phone vendor, in terms of revenue.
"Who knows what the future will be given the worldwide economic slowdown?" the executive said. "But we ranked as the third-largest mobile-phone supplier in revenues. Not bad for being in the market for only 15 months."
Several analysts that follow Apple said that the iPhone had a breakout quarter, exceeding many forecasts by 2 million units. Additionally, Apple has begun recognizing revenue from iPhone sales over a two-year "economic life" of the devices, and such sales contributed to $4.6 billion to the company's adjusted revenue for the quarter of $11.68 billion.Continued...
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Jobs: The iPhone is Apple's netbook
Continued...According to Gartner, netbooks made up about 5% of U.S. mobile PC sales last quarter, one to two percentage points over the same period the year before. Their strong sales, said Gartner, were due in large part to the gloomy global economic climate.
"I don't know how Apple can play there," said Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa in an interview last week. And ignoring netbooks could come back to haunt Apple. "Mini-notebooks are expanding the market, but if you're not in the mini-notebook market, your market share will definitely shrink," Kitagawa said. "People will want to save $50, $100."
Jobs disputed the idea that Apple is required to participate in the battle for netbook market share, and he disagreed with the thinking that the company had to fight off rivals by reducing its prices. "Is the downturn going to drive some of our customers to those lower segments of the marketplace and get to buy lesser products?" he asked. "I will be surprised if that happens in large numbers, and I actually think that there are still a tremendous number of customers that we don't have in the Windows world ... who would like to and can afford to buy Apple products. So we'll see what the ratio of those two things are, but we're not tremendously worried."
Apple sold a record 2.6 million Macs in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 30. Sales of its laptops, up 24% from the same time last year to 1.68 million, also set a record.
The company sold 6.9 million iPhones during the quarter, and it has sold more than 10 million of the devices since it launched the smart phone in July 2007. Apple does not break out sales of individual iPod models. End.
Source
"I don't know how Apple can play there," said Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa in an interview last week. And ignoring netbooks could come back to haunt Apple. "Mini-notebooks are expanding the market, but if you're not in the mini-notebook market, your market share will definitely shrink," Kitagawa said. "People will want to save $50, $100."
Jobs disputed the idea that Apple is required to participate in the battle for netbook market share, and he disagreed with the thinking that the company had to fight off rivals by reducing its prices. "Is the downturn going to drive some of our customers to those lower segments of the marketplace and get to buy lesser products?" he asked. "I will be surprised if that happens in large numbers, and I actually think that there are still a tremendous number of customers that we don't have in the Windows world ... who would like to and can afford to buy Apple products. So we'll see what the ratio of those two things are, but we're not tremendously worried."
Apple sold a record 2.6 million Macs in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 30. Sales of its laptops, up 24% from the same time last year to 1.68 million, also set a record.
The company sold 6.9 million iPhones during the quarter, and it has sold more than 10 million of the devices since it launched the smart phone in July 2007. Apple does not break out sales of individual iPod models. End.
Source
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Jobs: The iPhone is Apple's netbook
Continued...At the same time, it was clear that Jobs considers Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch as courting netbook dollars. "One of our entrants into that category, if you will, is the iPhone for browsing the Internet and doing e-mail and all the other things that a netbook lets you do," he said. "Being connected via the cellular net wherever you are, an iPhone is a pretty good solution for that, and it fits in your pocket."
Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at Technology Business Research Inc., agreed with Jobs. "For Apple, the iPhone and iPod Touch are a way to provide Web-access devices to the rest of the world," he said, referring to the popularity of netbooks outside the U.S. "And it prevents them from cannibalizing their MacBook lines."
Jobs, however, left the door open to a change in strategy if Apple does decide it needs to join the game. "We'll wait and see how that nascent category evolves," he said. "And we've got some pretty interesting ideas if it does evolve."
Gottheil said that if Apple did compete with the netbooks such as the Eee PC from Asustek, the Aspire One from Acer and the Mini-Note from Hewlett-Packard, it would likely stick to its premium-price model. "I don't think they would go below $500," Gottheil said. The category is defined by some, including research firm Gartner Inc., as lightweight laptops that cost less than $500.
The lowest Gottheil could see Apple going was $599, above that cutoff but $400 under its current entry-level MacBook notebook. Apple reduced the price of that model last week when it unveiled redesigned MacBooks and MacBook Pros.Continued...
Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at Technology Business Research Inc., agreed with Jobs. "For Apple, the iPhone and iPod Touch are a way to provide Web-access devices to the rest of the world," he said, referring to the popularity of netbooks outside the U.S. "And it prevents them from cannibalizing their MacBook lines."
Jobs, however, left the door open to a change in strategy if Apple does decide it needs to join the game. "We'll wait and see how that nascent category evolves," he said. "And we've got some pretty interesting ideas if it does evolve."
Gottheil said that if Apple did compete with the netbooks such as the Eee PC from Asustek, the Aspire One from Acer and the Mini-Note from Hewlett-Packard, it would likely stick to its premium-price model. "I don't think they would go below $500," Gottheil said. The category is defined by some, including research firm Gartner Inc., as lightweight laptops that cost less than $500.
The lowest Gottheil could see Apple going was $599, above that cutoff but $400 under its current entry-level MacBook notebook. Apple reduced the price of that model last week when it unveiled redesigned MacBooks and MacBook Pros.Continued...
Monday, October 27, 2008
Jobs: The iPhone is Apple's netbook
Apple is not looking to play in the sub-$500 laptop market, says CEO
By Gregg Keizer
Apple Inc. has no imminent plans to compete in the growing market for "netbooks," the small, inexpensive laptops that accounted for 5% of all U.S. notebook sales last quarter, CEO Steve Jobs said yesterday.
But the company already participates in the category, Jobs argued, citing Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch as devices that have much of the same functionality as the ultralight, low-cost notebooks.
"We choose to be in certain segments of the market, and we choose not to be in certain segments of the market," Jobs said during a Tuesday conference call with Wall Street analysts that highlighted its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. Jobs was responding to a question about whether and when Apple would enter the netbook market.
Repeating his categorization of the category last week as "nascent," Jobs downplayed the current market for the ultrasmall laptops. "There's, as best as we can tell, not a lot of them getting sold," he said.
Later in the question-and-answer session, Jobs said that although Apple would continue to add features to its notebooks as it dropped prices, he was unwilling to play in the netbook category as it's currently defined. "We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk, and our DNA will not let us ship that," Jobs said. "But we can continue to deliver greater and greater value to those customers that we choose to serve, and there's a lot of them. And we've seen great success by focusing on certain segments of the market and not trying to be everything to everybody."Continued...
By Gregg Keizer
Apple Inc. has no imminent plans to compete in the growing market for "netbooks," the small, inexpensive laptops that accounted for 5% of all U.S. notebook sales last quarter, CEO Steve Jobs said yesterday.
But the company already participates in the category, Jobs argued, citing Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch as devices that have much of the same functionality as the ultralight, low-cost notebooks.
"We choose to be in certain segments of the market, and we choose not to be in certain segments of the market," Jobs said during a Tuesday conference call with Wall Street analysts that highlighted its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. Jobs was responding to a question about whether and when Apple would enter the netbook market.
Repeating his categorization of the category last week as "nascent," Jobs downplayed the current market for the ultrasmall laptops. "There's, as best as we can tell, not a lot of them getting sold," he said.
Later in the question-and-answer session, Jobs said that although Apple would continue to add features to its notebooks as it dropped prices, he was unwilling to play in the netbook category as it's currently defined. "We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk, and our DNA will not let us ship that," Jobs said. "But we can continue to deliver greater and greater value to those customers that we choose to serve, and there's a lot of them. And we've seen great success by focusing on certain segments of the market and not trying to be everything to everybody."Continued...
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Apple iPhone sales boost AT&T’s third-quarter earnings
AT&T Inc. posted 4 percent total revenue growth during the third quarter of 2008. The company’s results were driven by increases in its wireless, U-verse and Internet Protocol data revenues.
Dallas-based AT&T (NYSE: T) reported net income of $3.2 billion, or 55 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $31.3 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2008. This compares to net income of $3.1 billion, or 50 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $30.1 billion for the third quarter of 2007.
The company’s wireless revenues experienced a significant boost from sales of the Apple iPhone 3G. AT&T is the exclusive wireless carrier of the iPhone. Wireless activations of the new Apple iPhone 3G — which hit the market on July 11 — totaled 2.4 million in the third quarter. About 40 percent of these customers were new AT&T wireless customers. The iPhone is marketed by Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).
AT&T also experienced a 2 million net gain in total wireless subscribers in the quarter, bringing its total wireless customers to 74.9 million. The company also experienced a 1.7 million net gain in retail postpaid wireless subscribers, which is up nearly 40 percent over the third quarter of 2007.
"The apple i phone is really a hot stuff in the market."
In all, total wireless revenues grew 15.4 percent for the quarter.
AT&T’s consumer Internet Protocol data revenues were up 19 percent over the third quarter of 2007, reflecting growth in U-verse TV and broadband services. AT&T has the ability to reach 14 million living units for U-verse TV. The company is on track to reach more than 1 million subscribers by the end of this year.
The company experienced a 4.3 percent increase in average revenue per household. Households were spending $61.97 on average on U-verse in the third quarter, compared to $59.43 spent per household in the third quarter of 2007.
AT&T has 5,300 employees in San Antonio.
Dallas-based AT&T (NYSE: T) reported net income of $3.2 billion, or 55 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $31.3 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2008. This compares to net income of $3.1 billion, or 50 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $30.1 billion for the third quarter of 2007.
The company’s wireless revenues experienced a significant boost from sales of the Apple iPhone 3G. AT&T is the exclusive wireless carrier of the iPhone. Wireless activations of the new Apple iPhone 3G — which hit the market on July 11 — totaled 2.4 million in the third quarter. About 40 percent of these customers were new AT&T wireless customers. The iPhone is marketed by Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).
AT&T also experienced a 2 million net gain in total wireless subscribers in the quarter, bringing its total wireless customers to 74.9 million. The company also experienced a 1.7 million net gain in retail postpaid wireless subscribers, which is up nearly 40 percent over the third quarter of 2007.
"The apple i phone is really a hot stuff in the market."
In all, total wireless revenues grew 15.4 percent for the quarter.
AT&T’s consumer Internet Protocol data revenues were up 19 percent over the third quarter of 2007, reflecting growth in U-verse TV and broadband services. AT&T has the ability to reach 14 million living units for U-verse TV. The company is on track to reach more than 1 million subscribers by the end of this year.
The company experienced a 4.3 percent increase in average revenue per household. Households were spending $61.97 on average on U-verse in the third quarter, compared to $59.43 spent per household in the third quarter of 2007.
AT&T has 5,300 employees in San Antonio.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Android and iPhone philosophies worlds apart
by Stephen Shankland
The objective of Apple's iPhone and Google's Android operating system may be similar--providing a rich mobile Internet experience--but the philosophy behind the two are just about as far apart as you can get in the technology realm.
That divide was illustrated Tuesday not just by Google's release of the open-source Android software but perhaps even more starkly by its gleeful horn-tooting that even before the day ended, five Android patches from outside programmers had been accepted.
"It's a small start, but knowing that we accepted our first patch from a contributor external to the Open Handset Alliance just 4.5 hours after unveiling the code reinforces to me why open-sourcing this is exactly the right thing to do," Jeff Bailey of Google's open-source team said in a blog post.
Open-source project members often pride themselves on the vitality of outside help--not just in the form of patches, but also detailed bug reports and feedback about developers' ever-changing cutting-edge releases. And with the broad base that contributes to Linux, there is no such thing as "outside" developers.
Apple has some open-source ties, to be sure. For example, the Safari browser used on both the Mac and iPhone are built atop the open-source Webkit project. Google chose the same technology for use in its Chrome browser for PCs and the one built into Android.
But mostly that's the exception that proves the rule. Apple's iPhone is about as locked down as possible.
The App Store, while thriving, is a walled garden compared with the user-ranked, self-governing free-for-all that Google aspires to build with its Android Market download site. Google launched its Android software developer kit before launching Android to encourage people to write applications for the phones, whereas Apple only released its SDK much later and, only recently, partly lifted a nondisclosure agreement that muzzled developers from so much as sharing programming tips. And perhaps most clearly, the first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1 built by HTC, comes with a USB debugging mode to let programmers peer into its inner workings.
"Apple will surely find a way to match the T-Mobile G1."
The objective of Apple's iPhone and Google's Android operating system may be similar--providing a rich mobile Internet experience--but the philosophy behind the two are just about as far apart as you can get in the technology realm.
That divide was illustrated Tuesday not just by Google's release of the open-source Android software but perhaps even more starkly by its gleeful horn-tooting that even before the day ended, five Android patches from outside programmers had been accepted.
"It's a small start, but knowing that we accepted our first patch from a contributor external to the Open Handset Alliance just 4.5 hours after unveiling the code reinforces to me why open-sourcing this is exactly the right thing to do," Jeff Bailey of Google's open-source team said in a blog post.
Open-source project members often pride themselves on the vitality of outside help--not just in the form of patches, but also detailed bug reports and feedback about developers' ever-changing cutting-edge releases. And with the broad base that contributes to Linux, there is no such thing as "outside" developers.
Apple has some open-source ties, to be sure. For example, the Safari browser used on both the Mac and iPhone are built atop the open-source Webkit project. Google chose the same technology for use in its Chrome browser for PCs and the one built into Android.
But mostly that's the exception that proves the rule. Apple's iPhone is about as locked down as possible.
The App Store, while thriving, is a walled garden compared with the user-ranked, self-governing free-for-all that Google aspires to build with its Android Market download site. Google launched its Android software developer kit before launching Android to encourage people to write applications for the phones, whereas Apple only released its SDK much later and, only recently, partly lifted a nondisclosure agreement that muzzled developers from so much as sharing programming tips. And perhaps most clearly, the first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1 built by HTC, comes with a USB debugging mode to let programmers peer into its inner workings.
"Apple will surely find a way to match the T-Mobile G1."
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