Analysts Have No Idea How Many Macs Apple Shipped Last Quarter

[citysnaps]

So why did it take to 2018 to stop?

Apple likely came to the conclusion there was no upside, and a lot of downsides, making that information public.

 

[Chazak]

So why did it take to 2018 to stop?

At that point, Apple decided the negatives far outweighed the positives and they had acquired a performance history that no longer required them to disclose informed not required by the SEC. Why would they disclose any more than is required?

 

[Kierkegaarden]

Maybe to you but as an investor, I want more information not less, that said though, the analyst estimates are probably a solid gauge, maybe there is a nugget in that recent Tripp Mickle book that explains some inside sourcing as to why Apple went in a more secretive direction.

If you’re an investor in any company and you don’t like their reporting — own more shares for more control, vote, or get out of the stock.

 

[Chazak]

They’re analysts. Earn that money and follow the trail. These reports are unacceptable.

Step into my office, you’re friggin’ fired!

Don't read them and don't pay for them. Their clients always have the right to do that. They do not answer to you or me or the SEC. They answer to their clients.

 

[falkon-engine]

Too bad a publicly traded company doesn’t reveal to its investors how many units its businesses move each quarter.

 

[MacGekko]

If you’re an investor in any company and you don’t like their reporting — own more shares for more control, vote, or get out of the stock.

Of course, but I still like more information, come on, look at my username, I don't care how or where you get it, just get it.

 

[XXPP]

There is a reason why Apple stopped reporting the sales figures to the market. Maybe that is what these Analysts should figure out.. Why?

Because the number of computers sold does not matter. Only profit counts.
You could sell a million units and be at a loss.
Apple reports profit.

 

[XXPP]

Too bad a publicly traded company doesn’t reveal to its investors how many units its businesses move each quarter.

You could sell a million units and be at a loss.
Apple reports profit.

 

[Chazak]

They need to spend more $ hiring guys in Asia on data intelligence. That's why analysts like Ming-Chi Kuo are invaluable.

You can survey BOE for panel shipments, Wistron for keyboard assembly deliveries, or even as simple as the box maker.

Kuo and Gurning are analysts for the securities business and investors. Gartner, IDC, etc. are for hire data consultants. Not the same thing and not the same purpose.

 

[JPack]

Kuo and Gurning are analysts for the securities business and investors. Gartner, IDC, etc. are for hire data consultants. Not the same thing and not the same purpose.

IDC - Research - Investment Research

IDC examines consumer markets by devices, applications, networks, and services to provide complete solutions for succeeding in these expanding markets.

www.idc.com

 

[antiprotest]

My guess is many.

 

[dpace32]

Better title: Analysts have different ideas on how many Macs shipped last quarter

 

[michaele11111]

IDC - Research - Investment Research

IDC examines consumer markets by devices, applications, networks, and services to provide complete solutions for succeeding in these expanding markets.

www.idc.com

To the best of my knowledge, they are not registered investment advisors, do not hold Series 7 SEC licenses are not held to the same legal standards, regardless of how they market themselves. They do not sell, market or deal in securities. They sell research and that is exactly what their website and materials say. It’s a very fine line and they are very sure not to cross it.

 

[newyorksole]

they’re selling a LOT! period.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Why in the world would Apple let their competitors know how many Macs, iPhones, iPads, displays, accessories, etc were sold?

That makes no sense.

Investors would like to know. The fact Apple won't tell makes me worry that it's an Enron situation.

Apple says they have $13B in cash sitting around. How can anyone actually verify that though? Apple could very well be cooking the books. Apple doesn't give anywhere near enough info on their revenues for people to actually verify that the revenues are real and that Apple isn't double counting.

With Apple providing so little info, our first clue would be when they stop paying suppliers on time. Which could then be followed by bankruptcy a few weeks later.

The whole point of the info they're supposed to be providing to investors is to avoid silently going bankrupt without a warning.

I'm actually surprised at how little cash Apple claims to have. On their last quarterly report they said they owed $48B to suppliers vs customers owed them $43B. This isn't one off - all of their past few reports have looked like this and their cash has been steadily going down. Apple could be bankrupt by March? IDK - I don't normally look at Apple's financial reports... are they super seasonal or something and Apple loses money most of the year?

Edit: Looking some more at this... Apple has been issuing debt faster than they've been paying it for awhile. Their Financing Cash Flow (includes shareholder dividends) have exceeded their Free Cash Flow for several years.

Apple has blown through 42% of their cash position over the last 3 years.

Things don't look so bad that I'd say bankruptcy is imminent or anything... obviously all Apple has to do is cut back on shareholder dividends. But geez. This is supposed to be the world's most valuable company, and their fiscals look... kind of mediocre?

 

[DocMultimedia]

Too bad a publicly traded company doesn’t reveal to its investors how many units its businesses move each quarter.

Units aren't important. Revenue is. If you want to know units you can invest in a different company.

 

[citysnaps]

Investors would like to know. The fact Apple won't tell makes me worry that it's an Enron situation.

Apple says they have $13B in cash sitting around. How can anyone actually verify that though? Apple could very well be cooking the books. Apple doesn't give anywhere near enough info on their revenues for people to actually verify that the revenues are real and that Apple isn't double counting.

With Apple providing so little info, our first clue would be when they stop paying suppliers on time. Which could then be followed by bankruptcy a few weeks later.

The whole point of the info they're supposed to be providing to investors is to avoid silently going bankrupt without a warning.

I'm actually surprised at how little cash Apple claims to have. On their last quarterly report they said they owed $48B to suppliers vs customers owed them $43B. This isn't one off - all of their past few reports have looked like this and their cash has been steadily going down. Apple could be bankrupt by March? IDK - I don't normally look at Apple's financial reports... are they super seasonal or something and Apple loses money most of the year?

Since you're worried I recommend selling your Apple shares and instead invest in tech companies that reveal sales info for every product they manufacture and sell. And find happiness.

I'm not worried at all. I look at their overall revenue, GPM, balance sheet, value of assets vs. liabilities, $60+ billion or so held in cash/cash-equivalents, customer satisfaction, being satisfied with Apple products I own, others' opinions I respect, financial ratings, etc. Yes, it's kind of a hodge-podge of metrics. In the end I'm happy.

 

[mectojic]

Would be nice if Apple was more transparent. Complete secrecy about future products, ok fine; walled garden for software/ hardware, if they insist; but not even sales data?

 

[genovelle]

As an investor it still bugs me when a company doesn’t report sales data.
Big picture numbers are fine, but it makes fraud harder to detect when real numbers aren’t released.
Blending products into larger categories makes it hard to determine poor performing SKUs.
Yes, they make money hand over fist, but that still doesn’t justify the smoke and mirror routine.

Apple doesn’t report them anymore because it provided competitors with target data, while they were keeping their sales private. It also, allows them not to allow shareholder’s short term ideas to influence their long term vision. Many of the products that make up the current Apple ecosystem might not exist if they had continuous pressure from the outside. When they did release numbers it was a distraction and the Analysis would use Apple’s guidance to come up with a higher number and then complain when Apple beat the number they gave but missed the inflated number.

 

[MacGekko]

Investors would like to know. The fact Apple won't tell makes me worry that it's an Enron situation.

Apple says they have $13B in cash sitting around. How can anyone actually verify that though? Apple could very well be cooking the books. Apple doesn't give anywhere near enough info on their revenues for people to actually verify that the revenues are real and that Apple isn't double counting.

With Apple providing so little info, our first clue would be when they stop paying suppliers on time. Which could then be followed by bankruptcy a few weeks later.

The whole point of the info they're supposed to be providing to investors is to avoid silently going bankrupt without a warning.

I'm actually surprised at how little cash Apple claims to have. On their last quarterly report they said they owed $48B to suppliers vs customers owed them $43B. This isn't one off - all of their past few reports have looked like this and their cash has been steadily going down. Apple could be bankrupt by March? IDK - I don't normally look at Apple's financial reports... are they super seasonal or something and Apple loses money most of the year?

Edit: Looking some more at this... Apple has been issuing debt faster than they've been paying it for awhile. Their Financing Cash Flow (includes shareholder dividends) have exceeded their Free Cash Flow for several years.

Apple has blown through 42% of their cash position over the last 3 years.

Things don't look so bad that I'd say bankruptcy is imminent or anything... obviously all Apple has to do is cut back on shareholder dividends. But geez. This is supposed to be the world's most valuable company, and their fiscals look... kind of mediocre?

The consensus is that Apple is sitting on $200 billion in cash, I don't know where you are getting your numbers, investors have complained for years that they were sitting on too much cash, Carl Icahn was able to convince or some say give Tim Cook license from the board to issue stock buybacks, again, bankruptcy, they might be sitting on more cash than any company in the world, is this a joke?

And the example you cite, Enron, is one huge reason why Apple would not want to cheat on their numbers.

 

[dotnet]

This has led analysts

Curious typo, you dropped the “c”…

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Out of curiosity, how do they estimate the figures?

In the past, I’d imagine that someone had a rough idea of how many chips Intel shipped to Apple in a quarter.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

My guess is many.

I’m guessing a bunch. If I had to be more specific, I’d say an entire bunch.

1 whole bunch.

 

[jntdroid]

Companies like Gartner, IDC, and Canalys in fact appear to have no clue how many Macs Apple sold as the third quarter estimates are wildly different.

Analysts Have No Idea How Many Macs Apple Shipped Last Quarter

Fixed that for y'all.

 

[docbop]

For the last several years, Apple has not provided breakdowns of the number of iPhones, Macs, and iPads sold, keeping analysts, customers, investors, and others in the dark on exact device sales. This has led analysts to attempt to estimate product shipments, and as the Q3 quarterly Mac numbers confirm, it's a very inexact process.

Companies like Gartner, IDC, and Canalys in fact appear to have no clue how many Macs Apple sold as the third quarter estimates are wildly different.

IDC estimates that Apple sold 10 million Macs during the quarter, up from 7 million in the year-ago quarter for an impressive 40.2 percent growth. Gartner, however, believes that Apple sold just 5.8 million Macs, down from 6.9 million in the year-ago quarter for a 15.6 percent drop.

There's a 4.3 million Mac shipment discrepancy between the estimates from IDC and Gartner, which highlights just how unreliable these shipment estimates can be. Canalys is in the middle of those two estimates, suggesting that Apple shipped 8 million Macs, up from 7.9 million in the year-ago quarter for 1.7 percent growth.

We have historically seen discrepancies between the estimates provided by IDC, Gartner, and Canalys, but not to this degree. Apple will provide more data on its revenue for the third calendar quarter (fourth fiscal quarter) during its October 27 earnings call, which should give us some insight into how well the Mac sold.

Apple this quarter was offering the new M2 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Pro, but it was also facing shipment delays on a number of Macs due to supply chain issues. As mentioned up above, Apple will not provide unit sales information, but overall Mac revenue will clear things up a bit, at least in terms of year over year sales and revenue.

Article Link: Analysts Have No Idea How Many Macs Apple Shipped Last Quarter

Apple always boosts of being most popular computer sales, but when you look at the breakdown of marketshare Apple is only 10% of computer market. iPhone is another story iPhone is big, but the Android market is multiple big companies. There is no way Apple doesn't know what it's number. My guess is they tell different story of where Apple make their money versus what they want the public the think. Also Apple still has the Steve Jobs obsession will profit margins being all that matters probably a lot of customers would get upset if they saw the cost to manufacture and what Apple sells their products for.