Apple Reports Best Quarter Ever in Q1 2012: $13.06 Billion Profit on $46.33 Billion in Revenue

[*LTD*]

Can I ask a simply question without anyone flaming me?

Why is this a good thing? They are just grossly overcharging their customers (in my opinion). All this talk in the media about companies making tons of money while workers get pennies. And most of their money sits in the bank (or in other countries because they do not want to pay the tax on it) where it really does not help anyone.

Yes other companies overcharge too but I'm not saying that they are doing the right thing either.

Don't you as customers feel that it would be better if you payed 10% less and apple made only 20% profit and not 30%? This is an honest question, I am not trolling.

I'm just looking for an answer, not flaming.

I'd rather see healthy, profitable American companies, especially in an economic downturn.

 

[pixelpro]

A stock buy-back at these elevated values would be brain dead.

Stock buy back!! You must be crazy. What they need to do is a stock split and announce a dividend.

 

[*LTD*]

They are just grossly overcharging their customers (in my opinion).

Many consumers don't think so. We're willing to pay more for a better value proposition.

What does Apple's success communicate to the consumer who spent their hard-earned dollars on an Apple product?

They can rest assured that their money has been well-spent with a robust ecosystem that is built to last, and which will see plenty of strong support years down the road. In contrast to folks who got hosed (or even scammed) with TouchPads, Windows Slates, JooJoo whatevers, and even Playbooks.

I'd rather pay a little more than throw money down the toilet.

 

[AppleMad98004]

Best answer to one of the conference call questions.....

What about iCloud?

Tim:

iCloud is not a product it is a strategy for the next decade...... Priceless. Good things to come I think.

 

[cirus]

I'd rather see healthy, profitable American companies, especially in an economic downturn.

yet they do nothing with that money. its currently in limbo. Yes it is good, but the money spent on apple products could have been spent elsewhere, where in would be going back into the economy and not sit in a big black hole (for now).

Many consumers don't think so. We're willing to pay more for a better value proposition.

I know and I understand. I simply want to know: Would you prefer if Apple charged 10% less and made only a 20% instead of a 30% profit margin.

 

[nylonsteel]

re original article

blow out - baby - blow out

good job team aapl

my portfolio will thank you tommorow

 

[*LTD*]

yet they do nothing with that money.

So? They seem to know the reason for that. Do you think they're somehow confused by it??

its currently in limbo. Yes it is good, but the money spent on apple products could have been spent elsewhere, where in would be going back into the economy and not sit in a big black hole (for now).

Better go knock on their door and tell them they're doing it wrong. I'm sure they'll be all ears.

I know and I understand. I simply want to know: Would you prefer if Apple charged 10% less and made only a 20% instead of a 30% profit margin.

I'd prefer it were free. But I'm not stupid, and neither are you.

Apple follows a simple, sensible rule: charge whatever the market will bear. Those who want to pay it, will. Those who don't, can look elsewhere. Seems to be working out alright.

 

[HiRez]

Don't you as customers feel that it would be better if you payed 10% less and apple made only 20% profit and not 30%? This is an honest question, I am not trolling.

You may be surprised to find out Apple is a for-profit corporation. It is not, and has never been, their goal to give a "good deal" to anyone (if that happens to work out sometimes, so much the better, but it's not a goal). They maximize profits however they can, just like every other company out there. And as a publicly traded company, I do not think their shareholders would take too kindly to any plan that does not maximize profits.

 

[cirus]

You may be surprised to find out Apple is a for-profit corporation. It is not, and has never been, their goal to give a "good deal" to anyone (if that happens to work out sometimes, so much the better, but it's not a goal). They maximize profits however they can, just like every other company out there. And as a publicly traded company, I do not think their shareholders would take too kindly to any plan that does not maximize profits.

I understand (also referring to LTD) that they have a responsibility to shareholders to maximize profits. I am just asking a simple yes or no question.
I just cannot understand how people can curse some companies for making high profits (oil companies) yet praise others.

LTD, I was simply saying that the money that goes to Apple is doing almost nothing for the US economy, half of it is out of country and the rest sits in banks. If some of the money was being spent at small businesses would that be better? (I'm just saying that the money that apple makes does very little for the economy--at least for the moment)

Question: Would you prefer if Apple charged 10% less and made only a 20% instead of a 30% profit margin.

In your opinion, yes or no.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Show me one company that’s willing to lower its profit margin when their products are so in popular production can’t keep up with demand. Apple isn’t going to make a $500 Mac anymore than Porsche is going to make a $10,000 econobox.

If anything Apple should actually look at increasing their profit margin just a little bit. It won't hurt demand and make them even more money.

You may be surprised to find out Apple is a for-profit corporation. It is not, and has never been, their goal to give a "good deal" to anyone (if that happens to work out sometimes, so much the better, but it's not a goal). They maximize profits however they can, just like every other company out there. And as a publicly traded company, I do not think their shareholders would take too kindly to any plan that does not maximize profits.

Apple is in business for it's shareholders. That is the only reason. If they are not maximizing profit and start giving discounts just to be nice the shareholders would rise up and the management would quickly be changed out. Like it or not, that is how big business works.

 

[iBug2]

It tells you that the smartphone market is growing at an insane rate big time when you look at the market share and Apple share has not grown as fast to match. They really been sitting around the same point for a while. Those number increases are going to stop at some point but that is because the size of the smartphone market would of stop growing because there is going to be a lack of new customers.

The cell phone market at one point had the insane growth but now look at it. It is not growing much faster than population.

Yeah but I don't think the growth will stall any time soon with smartphones. They are still a small percentage of all cellphones and one by one everyone will switch to smartphones probably.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Yeah but I don't think the growth will stall any time soon with smartphones. They are still a small percentage of all cellphones and one by one everyone will switch to smartphones probably.

Well everyone except my Mom and Dad. They still have trouble with their flip phone.

 

[Rogifan]

Of course they are. Things like Lte and big screens have proven just to be "gimmicky" things so far that have no correlation with sales. Its a good way for android fanatics to say their phone is "better" but that's fourth grade crap. As it stands now, no one cares about that stuff and the almost 40million iPhones sold in the fourth quarter is evidence of that.

I love the size of my iPhone. I have friends who have bigger phone - Droid, Evo and they complain b/c the phone doesn't neatly fit in their pocket or purse. Plus you just look at th iPhone and it screams high quality, luxury, object of desire. Can't really say the same for other phones.

 

[gnasher729]

They are just grossly overcharging their customers (in my opinion).

When you go to a store, the price for a Mac, or an iPad, or an iPhone, is clearly shown. There are no nasty surprises with additional cost when you buy one. Competitors, whether they sell PCs, tablets, or phone, also show prices, so the customer can compare prices. In this situation, it is not possible to "grossly overcharge". If Apple tried that, they wouldn't sell a thing. Not five million Macs, not 15 million iPads, not over 30 million iPhones.

 

[ditzy]

I understand (also referring to LTD) that they have a responsibility to shareholders to maximize profits. I am just asking a simple yes or no question.
I just cannot understand how people can curse some companies for making high profits (oil companies) yet praise others.

LTD, I was simply saying that the money that goes to Apple is doing almost nothing for the US economy, half of it is out of country and the rest sits in banks. If some of the money was being spent at small businesses would that be better? (I'm just saying that the money that apple makes does very little for the economy--at least for the moment)

Question: Would you prefer if Apple charged 10% less and made only a 20% instead of a 30% profit margin.

In your opinion, yes or no.

For me there is a fundamental difference between an oil company and apple. Oil is a necessity, the price of practically everything is influenced by the price of oil. Oil companies are effectively holding us to ransom.
Apple make luxury goods. I could choose to never buy apple products, and my life would still go on in a fairly similar way. Every fruit flavoured product I have bought, I chose to buy, and have not regretted buying.
Would I prefer it if apple products were cheaper? Yes if the quality was the same. Do I think that Apple owe that to me? No.

 

[voonyx]

For me there is a fundamental difference between an oil company and apple. Oil is a necessity the price of practically everything is influenced by the price of oil. Oil companies are effectively holding us to ransom.
Apple make luxury goods. I could choose to never buy apple products, and my life would still go on in a fairly similar way. Every fruit flavoured product I have bought, I chose to buy, and have not regretted buying.
Would I prefer it if apple products were cheaper? Yes if the quality was the same. Do I think that Apple owe that to me? No.

Exactly...comparing a tech company to an oil company still is the silliest thing I've read on here from the android fans.

 

[tigress666]

For me there is a fundamental difference between an oil company and apple. Oil is a necessity, the price of practically everything is influenced by the price of oil. Oil companies are effectively holding us to ransom.
Apple make luxury goods. I could choose to never buy apple products, and my life would still go on in a fairly similar way. Every fruit flavoured product I have bought, I chose to buy, and have not regretted buying.
Would I prefer it if apple products were cheaper? Yes if the quality was the same. Do I think that Apple owe that to me? No.

Yep, precisely.

Yeah, of course I'd love it if Apple made their stuff cheaper. Being on the consumer end, long as it didn't put them out of business and they could continue to innovate (and make my preferred computer), I'd prefer them charge less.

But that is exactly right, I don't think Apple owes it to me and I realize they are going to charge what in the end will give the the most profits (Whether that be cheaper to sell more or more expensive to get more profit margin. If they have marketers worth their salt they will charge what price gets them a good balance between both).

 

[nylonsteel]

re original article

shorts will be biting the carpet wed

me - just sittin back with my whiskey in hand watching my portfolio get fat

thanks aapl

 

[cameronjpu]

I understand (also referring to LTD) that they have a responsibility to shareholders to maximize profits. I am just asking a simple yes or no question.
I just cannot understand how people can curse some companies for making high profits (oil companies) yet praise others.

People who are intelligent don't curse some profits while praising others. But yes, dumb people do that.

LTD, I was simply saying that the money that goes to Apple is doing almost nothing for the US economy, half of it is out of country and the rest sits in banks. If some of the money was being spent at small businesses would that be better? (I'm just saying that the money that apple makes does very little for the economy--at least for the moment)

Question: Would you prefer if Apple charged 10% less and made only a 20% instead of a 30% profit margin.

In your opinion, yes or no.

As a consumer, yes. As a shareholder, no. But as a capitalist, I PREFER that I not have any input into what Apple charges for anything. The last thing I would want is someone like you determining how much I can charge for my time. I prefer to let my customers guide me to my price.

 

[MacBram]

Can I ask a simply question without anyone flaming me?

Why is this a good thing? They are just grossly overcharging their customers (in my opinion). All this talk in the media about companies making tons of money while workers get pennies. And most of their money sits in the bank (or in other countries because they do not want to pay the tax on it) where it really does not help anyone.

Yes other companies overcharge too but I'm not saying that they are doing the right thing either.

Don't you as customers feel that it would be better if you payed 10% less and apple made only 20% profit and not 30%? This is an honest question, I am not trolling.

I'm just looking for an answer, not flaming.

I don't know that their workers are getting pennies. Obviously, they are making less than someone in the US or Europe would make at the same job. That is why manufacturing has relocated there for every industry. And, as a couple of recent articles noted, Asian workforces are more flexible and available for last minute changes.

But by all accounts, Apple is one of the most progressive companies when it comes to their workforces, and they have been putting all kinds of policies in place.

So, that aside, there is still a question of overall profit margin. Personally, I don't begrudge the margin -- not just because I am a fan, and not just because I think the products are "worth it"...

It's because margins get added all along the way anyway, and I think Apple's strategy is at least as valid as anyone else's; it's certainly smarter. Other hardware companies like Dell might be taking less margin themselves to survive and compete, but this only leads to crappy products and little differentiation -- the margin there goes to MS and retailers. As another poster pointed out, MS gets obscene margins for little more than printing old, second-hand software on 10-cent plastic disks (or merely generating batches of serial numbers most of the time). Retailers continue to get 30 - 40 percent of most product sales. In Apple's case, Apple lets the retailer make very little I believe.

So, Apple is going to be paying assembly workers as well or better than other companies. It's like buying FairTrade coffee -- you can feel better that the worker is fairly compensated rather than exploited, but is the coffee brand or the store getting any less? No, you are just paying a bit more.

I just think Apple makes valid, and arguably better, decisions about where to place emphasis along the different parts of value chain and development process. And by remaining debt-free and profitable, they can spend money when and where necessary -- for example to create new assembly lines and invest in news skills in foreign factories.

As far as the money sitting in the bank "not helping anyone"... well, we don't know what the plan is, do we? They may have plans to revolutionize another industry or two that may well "help" us all.

Anyway, read my longer post about profit margin, just above your post. It's about how the large margins are due in large part to the success and long product cycle of Apple's products where it sells fewer products/models for longer than all its competitors. It's a carefully managed strategy including supply chain and retail. With the evident demand, Apple would be foolish to drop the iPhone from 650 bucks to 400, just because it "doesn't need" the extra cash.

 

[kas23]

And today we saw more proof of why the iPhone will never again be introduced in the month of June. I always thought that was a strange thing to do.

 

[cdmoore74]

I wonder if the richest company in America can bring jobs back to America? But I guess Apple thinks the American work force is not good enough knowing that price is not the problem.

 

[wesg]

I'm certain someone has posted something similar, but I certainly hope that Apple doesn't forget what products have gotten them to this point. Seeing the languishing Mac Pro, then seeing computer sales represent such a small percentage of their revenue, I'd really like to see Apple commit to their computer customers.

 

[ivladster]

When iPod sales dip below iTunes sales Apple will drop iPod classic.

 

[BaldiMac]

yet they do nothing with that money. its currently in limbo. Yes it is good, but the money spent on apple products could have been spent elsewhere, where in would be going back into the economy and not sit in a big black hole (for now).

This idea is repeated over and over again in these forums. Apple's "cash" isn't sitting under their mattress or in a black hole or in limbo. It is invested either strategically (battery tech, glass tech, etc.) or through the financial companies that hold it.

I understand (also referring to LTD) that they have a responsibility to shareholders to maximize profits. I am just asking a simple yes or no question.
I just cannot understand how people can curse some companies for making high profits (oil companies) yet praise others.

That's why we have antitrust laws. Because there is a big difference between trust-controlled industries (such as the oil industry) and a functional market such as the smartphone market.