Look how much revenue is up...that matters. iPhone is a mature product.
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Apple Reports 4Q 2018 Results: $14.1B Profit on $62.9B Revenue, 46.9M iPhones
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I had a conversation this afternoon with my wife about where AAPL is heading. I said we needed to get out of AAPL. I've been an AAPL investor for 11 years now, and have accumulated a multi-million dollar AAPL portfolio.
Here's my main concern: Apple devices have become too expensive even for us (at the physiological level) even though we can afford anything and everything that Apple makes. However, having had very humble beginnings, both of us understand the value of money, and we now consider Apple to be purely a luxury brand. We are not into luxury brands; we buy quality and refuse to buy junk, but we do not buy luxury for the sake of the brandname alone.
Apple has always made overpriced gadgets, but those gadgets offered value even at the inflated prices. I'm typing up this post on a quad-core 2.6 GHz i7 2012 Mac Mini with Fusion Drive, which is still a phenomenal device. Yes, perhaps I overpaid for that computer back in 2012 (a couple hundred bucks) compared to a similarly equipped Windows computer, but six years later, I'm using this Mac Mini and enjoy every minute of it, and it's still phenomenal with only one feature lacking compared to the most advanced Macs: not being able to be unlocked by an Apple Watch.
However, I've been looking for an upgrade path for both my MacBook Pro 2015 and my Mac Mini for years now, and I just do not see any product out there anymore that offers the value because I think the threshold of reason has been crossed by Tim Cook's Apple. There's no regard at Apple to the fact that that people have options now, the fact that Windows is not as horrible as it used to be, the fact that there are some reasonably good Android phones out there, etc. I appreciate the fact that Tim Cook has no understanding of what money means to regular people. He has been filthily rich for so long now that he has lost all sense of reality when it comes to regular people's lives and budgets. I also realize that all other Apple executives who are the decision makers at Apple have no sense of reality either, being so incredibly rich. However, my wife and I still have the sense of reality despite our newly found wealth, and we feel that paying so much money for a MacBook Pro or a new iPad, or a new Mac Mini is just throwing your money away. We are not migrating away from the Apple's ecosystem (yet), as we are now heavily rooted in it, including all the IoT devices that are anchored to the Apple's HomeKit. Migrating away from Apple would be a very disruptive process for us at this time. What is our solution? Our solution is to continue to use our older Apple devices (like the 2012 Mac Mini, the iPhone 7, the iPad Mini 2, the 2014 27" Retina iMac, etc.) without buying anything new. Not because we cannot afford it, but because we feel that it's obscene to spend so much money on these devices. I'm afraid a lot of people with similar backgrounds - whether or not they have the money to spend - are having similar feelings and are putting off their purchases of Apple devices.
So, this is my dilemma. I liked owning AAPL, but I see no plan in the Apple's leadership for the future. Tim Cook's plan for the future seems to continue to raise the prices. Unfortunately, Tim does not understand that he has passed the threshold of decency at this point for most middle class people in the US, Canada, and Europe. Since about 2016, I've been feeling that the direction that Apple has taken with raising the prices is destructive to AAPL. I know, I know, the stock price has been rising, but there's a certain degree of inertia in the behavior of the stock compared to the direction that the leadership of a corporation sets.
Maybe Apple will start using their ARM chips in the Macs come next year. Maybe that's how Apple can lower the pricing while still maintaining the profit margins, and because of the lower prices they will be able to jump-start the sales of Macs. Maybe, Apple has some new amazing gadget up their sleeve that will blow everyone away. However, for now, I see nothing at all other than their desire to keep raising the prices and hoping to show Wall Street a solid growth of gross and net revenues. I don't' think you can fool Wall Street with this strategy. Wall Street folks are not idiots.
I'm saying all of this with a very heavy heart. I love this company, and it makes me sick watching what Mr. Cook is doing with it.
Here's my main concern: Apple devices have become too expensive even for us (at the physiological level) even though we can afford anything and everything that Apple makes. However, having had very humble beginnings, both of us understand the value of money, and we now consider Apple to be purely a luxury brand. We are not into luxury brands; we buy quality and refuse to buy junk, but we do not buy luxury for the sake of the brandname alone.
Apple has always made overpriced gadgets, but those gadgets offered value even at the inflated prices. I'm typing up this post on a quad-core 2.6 GHz i7 2012 Mac Mini with Fusion Drive, which is still a phenomenal device. Yes, perhaps I overpaid for that computer back in 2012 (a couple hundred bucks) compared to a similarly equipped Windows computer, but six years later, I'm using this Mac Mini and enjoy every minute of it, and it's still phenomenal with only one feature lacking compared to the most advanced Macs: not being able to be unlocked by an Apple Watch.
However, I've been looking for an upgrade path for both my MacBook Pro 2015 and my Mac Mini for years now, and I just do not see any product out there anymore that offers the value because I think the threshold of reason has been crossed by Tim Cook's Apple. There's no regard at Apple to the fact that that people have options now, the fact that Windows is not as horrible as it used to be, the fact that there are some reasonably good Android phones out there, etc. I appreciate the fact that Tim Cook has no understanding of what money means to regular people. He has been filthily rich for so long now that he has lost all sense of reality when it comes to regular people's lives and budgets. I also realize that all other Apple executives who are the decision makers at Apple have no sense of reality either, being so incredibly rich. However, my wife and I still have the sense of reality despite our newly found wealth, and we feel that paying so much money for a MacBook Pro or a new iPad, or a new Mac Mini is just throwing your money away. We are not migrating away from the Apple's ecosystem (yet), as we are now heavily rooted in it, including all the IoT devices that are anchored to the Apple's HomeKit. Migrating away from Apple would be a very disruptive process for us at this time. What is our solution? Our solution is to continue to use our older Apple devices (like the 2012 Mac Mini, the iPhone 7, the iPad Mini 2, the 2014 27" Retina iMac, etc.) without buying anything new. Not because we cannot afford it, but because we feel that it's obscene to spend so much money on these devices. I'm afraid a lot of people with similar backgrounds - whether or not they have the money to spend - are having similar feelings and are putting off their purchases of Apple devices.
So, this is my dilemma. I liked owning AAPL, but I see no plan in the Apple's leadership for the future. Tim Cook's plan for the future seems to continue to raise the prices. Unfortunately, Tim does not understand that he has passed the threshold of decency at this point for most middle class people in the US, Canada, and Europe. Since about 2016, I've been feeling that the direction that Apple has taken with raising the prices is destructive to AAPL. I know, I know, the stock price has been rising, but there's a certain degree of inertia in the behavior of the stock compared to the direction that the leadership of a corporation sets.
Maybe Apple will start using their ARM chips in the Macs come next year. Maybe that's how Apple can lower the pricing while still maintaining the profit margins, and because of the lower prices they will be able to jump-start the sales of Macs. Maybe, Apple has some new amazing gadget up their sleeve that will blow everyone away. However, for now, I see nothing at all other than their desire to keep raising the prices and hoping to show Wall Street a solid growth of gross and net revenues. I don't' think you can fool Wall Street with this strategy. Wall Street folks are not idiots.
I'm saying all of this with a very heavy heart. I love this company, and it makes me sick watching what Mr. Cook is doing with it.
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I think you’re onto
https://www.macworld.com/article/3317850/apple/apple-price-increases.html
Yep. Nobody else reports sales why should Apple? Of course it won’t stop IDC and others from putting out bogus estimates. And the market isn’t liking it. Stock down now over 7%.
RE: "2:28 pm Apple will no longer be providing unit sales for iPhone, iPad, and Mac starting in December quarter. (Wow!)"
That's a Game Changer !
AAPL will tank tomorrow morning when this becomes common knowledge !
That's a Game Changer !
AAPL will tank tomorrow morning when this becomes common knowledge !
Pretty sure no one cares ''cept brand fanatics that derive some sort of self worth from identifying with a commodity electronics company.[/QUOTE]You're drawing an incrrect conclusion based on a misinterpretation of the numbers you quoted and a claim you've misquoted.
Doubters were claiming the phones weren't selling --as well as- Apple hoped. The numbers support that since I doubt Apple was hoping for flat YoY sales.
Apple charging more for the units they sold can't be conflated with they sold more units. Hence the higher revenue, profit, and ASP with flat sales.
QUOTE="FFR, post: 26741464, member: 136949"]
Anybody care to guess how much Samsung mobile posted for the quarter.......1.9 billion
Hahahaha, seriously doubters were saying iPhones weren’t selling “as well as apple hoped”.
Ok....that’s hilarious.
200,000 increase in units sold isn’t really flat, when everyone else in the smartphone market are losing sales. Also taking into account the 29% increase in revenue yoy for said 200,000 units not bad at all when you when the entire smartphone market is contracting.
did you notice the asp rising as well? Or do you cherry pick to support your conclusions?
Right Samsung galaxies aren’t selling, and their asp and revenue in mobile have cratered, and according to you only brand fanfics care about current market conditions.
Remind me did you sell your note for a pixel or is it sitting in a drawer?
Should we really be applauding less transparency from a publicly traded company?
They will report the revenue. The unit sales were a joke with how much emphasis analysts put on it.
The headline shouldn't be flat unit growth...it should be 29% revenue growth. iPhone having pricing power matters more than flat unit sales.
As of next quarter when Apple ceases to report unit sales, this guessing game will become interesting.
How meaningful are these numbers though? And none of Apple’s competitors provide unit sales data. At least now sell side analysts will be forced to stop obsessing over iPhone unit sales.
Units were up, percentage was flat due to the amount of iPhones sold in relation to the marginal increase in sales... you know to be fair.
Like I said the increase in iPhone unit sold which you call flat, 200,000 units, is basically how many pixels 2 google sold per quarter last year, which is directly competing with the iPhone.
Almost every other android oem in the smartphone market has had sales, revenue and asp sink like a rock and some here are calling it flat, ignoring a 29% increase in revenue yoy and iPhone asp’s approacing an all time high.
So you found value in a 2012 Mac mini that you say may have been overpriced by a couple hundred bucks, but a 2018 Mac mini that may be overpriced by a couple hundred bucks is a bridge too far?
Luca says number of units does not equate to underlying business.
"A unit of sale is less relevant than in the past."
"Top competitors do not provide quarterly unit sales."
Apple just announced that they will no longer report units volume shipped. This is a big deal and suggests the business isn’t strong for growth in the long run. Stock.unging after hours shows the reaction to that.
The stock was already down before that announcement...big deal. I'm on the call. BTW, AAPL was a stock down one the least of the others that have plunged the last few weeks. Have you looked at AMZN, FB, GOOGL, NFLX, NVDA?
I think it's a good thing that I've been calling for a long time. Those product lines are mature and flattish unit growth on those products will be expected.
The revenue growth is 20% and EPS is 40%. It's just phenomenal. You may not get unit sales volume, but you'll still see the revenue growth...which is what matters anyway.
Sure they are thrilled because consumers are still buying their products, can’t say the same for the completion.... you know because they have also increased their prices yoy, but consumers aren’t purchasing it.
Must be a correlation in there somewhere.
Profits are up. Record breaking even. How does a company sell less of most of their core products yet make more money?
They innovate. Also, don't underestimate the low overhead "services" and Apple Care. I imagine Apple Care is extremely profitable.
What a coincidence so am I, apple is killing it this quarter, have you seen the guidance for next quarter?
Android oems must be pissed right about now.... you know because no is buying their phones
.