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Apple tops Wall Street's estimates in record quarter

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

April 23, 2008, 5:44 PM

Apple posted its best second quarter in company history, on strong sales of Macs and iPhones.

One chink in Apple's armor was its iPod sales, which only managed to increase 1% year-over-year to 10,644,000. However, sales of Macintosh computers were up 51% to 2,289,000, and the company sold 1.7 million iPhones.

458,000 of those Macs were sold through the company's retail stores, half of which were new to the platform, CFO Peter Oppenheimer said during a conference call. Apple's share of the US MP3 player market was 73%, and the company said it saw increases in just about every market it operates in.

With the quarterly numbers for the iPhone now public, attention turns to AT&T to see how many of these phones were actually activated through the carrier, rather than unlocked for use on others.

The Cupertino company has also been experiencing some supply issues in its US stores, chief operating officer Tim Cook admitted. He attributed this to those purchasing in store with the intention to unlock, but could not provide any estimates as to what percentage of those sold could be.

Profits were up 36% to $1.05 billion on $7.51 billion of revenue or $1.16 per share, from $5.26 billion in the year ago quarter. CEO Steve Jobs lauded the performance of the company, saying it had "momentum to launch some terrific new products in the coming quarters."

Indeed, during the call Oppenheimer hinted at a refresh to Apple's laptop line, which itself saw a 61% year over year increase. Desktops also increased during the quarter 37%.

The street had been expecting revenue of $6.96 billion and earnings of $1.07 per share. Apple said it expects to post revenue of about $7.2 billion in its fiscal third quarter, slightly higher than Wall Street estimates of $7.15 billion.

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By pitdingo2

edited Apr 24, 2008 - 2:29 PM

It really is no wonder Apple is selling their computers, smart phones, ipods, etc... like crazy. Consumers are becoming more educated and looking for more sophisticated, innovative products which Apple continuously delivers. People are sick of the same old crappy devices with primitive interfaces and input methods. And all the security problems of M$ software

People pay a premium, because of the quality of product Apple gives. OSX is far superior to any OS out there. The innovative iPhone is dominating the consumer smartphone market. And the iPod with over 150 million units sold is by far the hottest media player.

Sure, you can buy cheapo devices which try to clone and imitate Apple, but you end up getting what you paid for...a cheapo crappy device. And then you spend your days trying to justify your cheapo purchase and putting down those who were smart enough to get the real thing.

Score: 0

By cescam66

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 7:49 PM

really?? can you support your statements??? i don't really think you know what you are talking about fanboy..... troll

Score: 0

By preinterpost

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 8:56 AM

It's a shame the lambs are so easily pleased and follow the turtle without critizism. From a tech perspective I do wish their laptops would be more on the leading edge so I could take them into closer consideration. Well, I guess the target market are consumers. In terms of biz it's good for the shares of course :)

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

edited Apr 24, 2008 - 12:10 PM

Sheep get slaughtered, like our boy pitdingo. He is the ultimate little follower holding Steve Jobs had looking up at him like a little kid in awe of a sports icon.

It's rather entertaining to see how pathetic he can get.

Score: 0

By tscar13

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 9:00 AM

I agree and this gets back to Jobs being the marketing genius of the two founders. His ad campaign is going to get old but right now it appeals to those who want to be "cool".

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

edited Apr 24, 2008 - 12:26 PM

Pretty much everybody wants Apple products for the wrong reasons.

They are turds wrapped in a shiny veneer. Like most of the fake a** wannabes who want to "appear" wealthy who scrape money together for this overpriced junk, then can't afford the gas to go and pick up thier own paycheck.

The funny part is, I make a great living off my own business. I can drive the Range Rovers, Lexus, Infiniti's if I wish to buy them. I can also afford the $500 sunglasses and the $3000 Mac computers.

I don't buy any of this crap. I still drive the vehicle we bought before I started off on my own and our second car is a 96 Riviera. My favorite sunglasses cost $10 and my latest notebook was barely $1100.

If I am ever going to buy a high end product to shove in people faces, it will be a Bentley Continental GTC, not an AirBook or an iPod that anybody can get with a Best Buy credit card.

I would rather spend the extra money taking great family vacations and improving our house. You know, the things that are more important than being seen with Apple products, hoping to convince people you are somehow successful.

Score: 0

By dhjdhj

posted Apr 25, 2008 - 8:34 AM

How much time have you actually spent with Apple products? On what basis do you claim their products are crap?

Score: 0

By lfmmoura

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 10:24 PM

Erm... not really. Some us just like the very pleasant user experience their products provide. I work with Windows (several versions) all day long - it's nice to come home to my Mac for a change. I've also owned several mobile devices - still haven't seen anything that matches the iPhone in terms of interface. Point is, not everyone sees hardware specs as the ONE AND ONLY decisive factor.

Score: 0

By tscar13

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 1:10 PM

I can top that:) I retired at the age officially of 52 and still drove my beat-up ford for 10 years until l I had to get a new car. What did I get? not some fancy shinny ,"I am cool and wealthy" car but a ford Focus. It gets great mileage and is nice and comfortable and not showy.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 3:26 PM

That's the funny thing about me. On the outside, everyone sees the beach bum who's always in cargo shorts and flip flops with blonde spikes who never seems to go to work. I have more plain white T-shirts than most people have in thier entire wardrobe.

I have no interest in trying to impress people with clothes, cars, etc... It's only when you step into our house that you see what my passions are.

Score: 0

By tscar13

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 3:41 PM

I agree. My fondness goes back..well..let's just say many years and that is Jade statues which will be donated to the museum where I live.

Have a great day:)

Score: 0

By tscar13

edited Apr 24, 2008 - 7:59 AM

First of all, I give Apple credit for a good quarter. As far as the comment on The quarter issue. different companies run their quarters differently. Some use the calendar year while others don't.

As far as MS owning a share of Apple, they don't. Back in the late 90's when Apple was on the verge of going under and MS was being investigated by the DOJ concerning the collapse of Netscape, Ms loaned Apple between 400-700 million and talked Jobs into coming back. This loan was not a partial purchase.

As far as going forward, I do think Apple may have peaked in this quarter and may start a downward trend. In both the phone and portable media player market, while Apple holds a good lead, I do think it is going to contract. That is the nature of business and not a knock on Apple. Look for Asian companies to start making inroads into both. With the sinking dollar, they can buy up smaller American companies to get the tech knowledge they need. I would also not count out MS. Their 2nd generation Zune player has gotten good reviews and Asians countries have beaten the Macbook air in head to head competition mainly because they offer more at a lower price point.

I also give credit to Apple for a great marketing campaign ( Jobs was always the marketing genius of the two founders) but this will get old sooner or latter.

Finally, Apple , to remain competitive and not just against MS, must improve their browser and office suite. These 2 areas are two that if Apple is able to improve, would allow them to compete with MS and Open Source. I, personally, think that the company that will knock both Apple, Google, and MS off their perch is one we haven't heard of yet. The final problem that Apple may be faced with is niche companies that enter the different segments of Apple's core business and take away market share.

But, they did do a good job of increasing sales and holding down costs though, in Europe, they are having to sell the IPhone at below costs.

Once again, Using M$ strikes me as childish and I don't think MS is the threat that should worry Apple but some other companies.

Added note- With increase exposure (ie...good 2nd quarter results), look for increase scrutiny by different countries. This is also the nature of business.

Score: 0

By bolaris

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 2:48 AM

Lets all get iphones, hack their guts out, and run whatever we want on them...

Score: 0

By Paul Skinner

edited Apr 24, 2008 - 2:25 AM

I take it they posted their best second quarter from last year then, seeing as the second quarter hasn't finished yet this year?

Score: 0

By pitdingo2

posted Apr 23, 2008 - 8:05 PM

Hats off to Apple. Glad to see a company being rewarded for innovating and driving new markets. Apple is clearly the company to beat.

It is funny watching M$ and everyone else try to clone everything Apple does and fail miserably.

Score: 0

By lfmmoura

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 6:48 AM

Actually, I have an interesting theory. Since M$ owns a share of Apple (at least, last time I checked they did - did they not buy a share when Apple was having problems?), they most likely use Apple as a means to develop and test the waters on new user interfaces before they jump in and adopt them. Vista looks quite a bit like Tiger. And most likely, Windows 7 will look a lot like Leopard.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Apr 23, 2008 - 10:33 PM

Funny I thought MS had tons more money so they would be the company to beat.

Score: 0

By bousozoku

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 1:24 PM

They're being beat virtually with a baseball bat over Vista. Does that work for you?

When was the last time Microsoft did anything interesting that didn't involve someone else's intellectual property? :-D

Score: 0

By pitdingo2

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 6:05 AM

Look at Nintendo. They are dominating both the next generation console and handheld market. M$ has more $$$ in the bank from their illegal desktop monopoly but Nintendo is the one to beat.

Score: 0

By tscar13

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 3:43 PM

Last time I checked the financial pages XBOX was outselling the Japanese in the US.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 9:09 AM

I figured you would find a way to bring Nintendo into the equation. Illegal desktop you are so full of s***. Since Apple lets no one in I guess they are a monopoly too. Ah yeah they are not MS so the are exempt from that label. You are such an as$ with the M$ crap. You really need to get some help with your hate issues.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 12:20 AM

The company with more money by definition is the one to beat.

Pit owns a Mac and is cheerleading like a little b**** as usual.

Score: 0

By pitdingo2

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 6:05 AM

"...by definition..."

that is funny...

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 12:08 PM

Go sleep with your Wii and watch Blue's Clues litle man. How does it feel to be a nobody?

I need to know from someone who is truly a pathetic loser.

Score: 0

By cescam66

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 7:51 PM

don't feed the troll!

Score: 0

By dracodos

posted Apr 23, 2008 - 7:23 PM

hmm... can someone say Apple Fanboy

Score: 0

By dhjdhj

posted Apr 23, 2008 - 10:14 PM

I'm laughing all the way to the bank!

Score: 0

By internetworld7

posted Apr 23, 2008 - 8:03 PM

APPLE FANBOY!!!!!!!

Score: 0

By bousozoku

posted Apr 23, 2008 - 8:55 PM

Very good. I believe someone owes you a doughnut. :-)

It's good to see that Apple is making a profit as the hardware company it is, even if the profit margin was reduced. They'll have to sell a lot more to reduce their margins to Acer levels, though.

Score: 0

By internetworld7

posted Apr 23, 2008 - 6:05 PM

Now is a great time to get on the Mac bandwagon! On the heels of this great article is a video clip by Cramer over at street.com where he declares PC's both irrelevant in the future and glorified typewriters!:

http://www.thestreet.com...ml?puc=jjchome#10413205

Score: 0

By zridling

edited Apr 23, 2008 - 11:41 PM

Great link. Cramer, as we all know, is an "entertainer" as his show warns up front every night. He was telling everyone NOT to sell their Bear Stearns stock two days before it imploded, and then tried to explain it by saying, "I said don't sell only if you had stock in Bear Stearns, not if you had Bear Stearns' stock."

Cramer, like all other Apple folks, see the computer as a toy, not a tool, thereby swallowing all of Apple's hype. You want zazz and flash and style, check out Office 2007 instead of futzing with you phone.* And anyone who buys something based on what their kid is wanting — I want both a pink and strawberry iPods, Daddy! — is an idiot.
____________________
*I still remember the guy talking on his iPhone in the stall at the airport bathroom next to me. He went on and on about how great it was. Meanwhile, I was hammering thundering wet farts and moaning and groaning the whole time. Oddly, the person on the other side of the line didn't ask what the commotion was.

Score: 0

By Lawrence01

posted Apr 24, 2008 - 10:40 AM

LOL!!!!

Score: 0

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