Apple Reports Q2 2018 Results: $13.8B Profit on $61.1B Revenue, 52.2M iPhones

[szw-mapple fan]

Nobody predicted doom and gloom - just flat iPhone sales, which is exactly what happened. What they're worried about is the future - you can't keep growing earnings when your sales are flat and people are showing resistance to further price increases.

Apple's iPhone sales increased slightly despite the fact that the per unit prices of the flagship is much higher. This means people are not actually showing much resistance to the price increases. In the end, more money went to Apple. Apple cares about revenue and profit, not units sold. Wall Street should have gotten used to this years ago.

 

[BuddyTronic]

They still need Macs for everything.

Yes, that's right.

I mean, maybe it is true that most people are better off with an iPad or iOS device than a "real computer".

Not everyone needs an iMac or a MacBook or MacBook Pro these days - but there is still a definite need for traditional computers to exist.

Today Tim Cook said that the iPhone market is a great place to be - it's highly profitable and other good things. That's not a direct quote, but that was the message I got out of it - he said that Apple is very fortunate to be in this market.

I don't think they will stop making traditional computers yet - maybe that day will come, but who really knows?

I think in 5 years we will still have Macs. In 10 years, maybe. In 20 years? haha. I think in 20 years we are going to have AI and we will see some sort of devices or robots demanding human rights. For reference - check out Ray Kurzweil "Age of Spiritual Machines" book.

For now we need Macs - luckily Apple can afford to make them, and needs to make them, and also lucky that they have a whole lot of other ways to make incredible amounts of money - which goes a long way to help them keep making Macs.

It's weird - I admit it.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Those of us who had hoped sales would be lower and in turn might encourage Apple to lower iPhone prices going forward look to be disappointed.

If the X is selling so well outside of Europe why not raise the price again? Higher prices aren’t putting everybody off so I see no reason why the base price can’t go up to £1200. Come on Apple you can make more money again.

It doesn’t matter that less people are buying iPhones right now because profits are at a record level.

 

[Ghost31]

Tim Cook is a crook and snake oil salesmen.

Well aren’t you fierce. So much hate and vitriol for someone that has elevated a company to being the most profitable and influential in the world.

 

[uberzephyr]

So go and show us the factual proof of his statement then.... and combined profits of every single iPhone they sell doesn’t count.

He doesn't have to show you "factual proof". The company is making money hand over fist. If you want to buy into the speculative 3rd party inference that "iPhone X production was slashed in half" to only 20 million/quarter... go right ahead. That means you bought into the story that some analyst "genius" originally thought that the iPhone X would sell 40M/quarter. Right - Apple sells a total of around 50M phones/quarter, and the $1000+ iPhone was immediately going to make up 80% of that volume. LOL! Apple has NEVER said what their sales targets were, all these assumptions come from supplier guesstimates / analysts' imaginations.
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It doesn’t matter that less people are buying iPhones right now because profits are at a record level.

You must have read a different article - this one reported iPhone sales are UP from 50.8M to 52.2M. That is the exact opposite of "less people are buying iPhones"...

 

[otternonsense]

I certainly didn't call people stupid - I did the complete opposite. I pointed out your implication, which is the natural conclusion to be drawn from your assertion that Apple doesn't need to bother innovating because people will keep handing over big wads of cash for mediocre, outdated products.

Well, yes, that's exactly what they do --irrational buyers, perhaps, indifferent to actual product updates, most certainly. And Cook's dream clientele.

The "stupid" part is certainly your assumption. Your online reading-between-lines needs some work.

 

[uberzephyr]

Ah I see, the usual I can’t provide any proof so I’ll attemot to twist the argument around to divert attention away from that fact, comment.

Ironic that you use the "can't provide any proof" argument when you are the one that can't provide any proof that he is lying.

 

[Vjosullivan]

I thought no one wanted to buy Apple products? The iPhone X is a failure and too expensive for anyone to buy it. The HomePod is too expensive. The laptops and desktops all need to be updated before anyone will buy them and more.
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iPhone and iTunes sales appear to be doing and now amount to around three quarters of the total revenue. Things look significantly less rosey for the rest of the product lines. The graph shows MacBook, iMac and iPad sales all in decline, particularly if you count units rather than revenue.

 

[apolloa]

But you have no (and I mean 0. zip. nada. none) proof on your statement. Just the tea leaves read by analysts having a track record far from Man o' War.

I don't think you understand the analyst simply say things to pump up or dump stocks and almost never get things even close to right. It could be very likely, Samsung and other handset manufactures are not selling well given they all use the same piece suppliers as Apple. Oh snap.
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You do realize these suppliers have other customers besides Apple. For example, TSMC is used by Qualcomm and Samsung uses Qualcomm tips in many of its S9 series phones. Likewise, Sammsung's display unit has Samsung Mobile division as a customer. Weak S9 sales would result in both the TSMC and Samsung OLD Display not meeting expectations.

See. Logic 101 is not that hard.

So does that analyst claiming things to pump up or dump stock also include KGI securities? They also claimed the iPhone X sales were lower then expected after all.

 

[Markoth]

The Macs are my favorite products from Apple even over the iPhone/iPad. It would be easier for me to migrate to Android than it would be to migrate to Windows.

It's just so hard to find solidly-built computers, running a solid, reliable operating system. macOS has had its issues lately, but it's still more stable, and most definitely more secure than Windows. Linux distributions can be stable, but the software isn't as mature or plentiful, and the hardware support can be difficult at times. There really is no alternative to macOS, as much as I wish there was given the lack of care Apple has shown with their hardware. System76 may someday be an option (at least for those of us comfortable with Ubuntu), but the last laptop I bought from them had a few significant hardware issues I couldn't work around. Their business model gives me hope, though.

 

[mib1800]

It's just so hard to find solidly-built computers, running a solid, reliable operating system. macOS has had its issues lately, but it's still more stable, and most definitely more secure than Windows. Linux distributions can be stable, but the software isn't as mature or plentiful, and the hardware support can't be difficult at times. There really is no alternative to macOS, as much as I wish there was given the lack of care Apple has shown with their hardware. System76 may someday be an option (at least for those of us comfortable with Ubuntu), but the last laptop I bought from them had a few significant hardware issues I couldn't work around. Their business model gives me hope, though.

This is a flimsy statement to make. How do you know MacOS is more secure or stable?

At least on Windows I know there are many more users (and testers and hackers etc) using the o/s and reporting issues or having issues surfaced out. MacOS is more of an untested black box (with hidden nasties lurking around). And given Apple track record in making software (beauty on the outside with weak innards), confidence level is definitely below Windows or other open sourced o/s.

 

[Markoth]

This is a flimsy statement to make. How do you know MacOS is more secure?

At least on Windows I know there are many more users (and testers and hackers etc) using the o/s and reporting issues or having issues surfaced out. MacOS is more of an untested black box (with hidden nasties lurking around). And given Apple track record in making software (beauty on the outside with weak innards), confidence level is definitely below Windows or other open sourced o/s.

I knew I'd get this sort of response.

Because macOS is built on a far simpler and more proven Unix foundation, including a lot of code which runs daily on some of the busiest Linux and FreeBSD servers on the internet, it is a much more secure system. In the world of software development, increased simplicity yields improved stability, security and performance, simply due to the human factor. Humans can't manage overly complex systems effectively. I could talk your head off for hours about this, but I'll leave it at that. If you want me to go into detail about this, I can do so.

Also, hackers use Unix-like operating systems, not Windows. Windows is far more of a black box, because almost none of it is open-source, making it unsuitable for hackers. A good portion of macOS is based on open-source code which Apple periodically releases their modifications to. Although, a lot of it is unmodified.

 

[uberzephyr]

So does that analyst claiming things to pump up or dump stock also include KGI securities? They also claimed the iPhone X sales were lower then expected after all.

And their lead Apple analyst just "left" his KGI job yesterday. Coincidence?

 

[mib1800]

I knew I'd get this sort of response.

Because macOS is built on a far simpler and more proven Unix foundation, including a lot of code which runs daily on some of the busiest Linux and FreeBSD servers on the internet, it is a much more secure system. In the world of software development, increased simplicity yields improved stability, security and performance, simply due to the human factor. Humans can't manage overly complex systems effectively. I could talk your head off for hours about this, but I'll leave it at that. If you want me to go into detail about this, I can do so.

Also, hackers use Unix-based operating systems, not Windows. Windows is far more of a black box, because almost none of it is open-source, making it unsuitable for hackers. A good portion of macOS is based on open-source code which Apple periodically releases their modifications to. Although, a lot of it is unmodified.

This doesnt say much about anything. So what if MacOS has a unix base? There are many add-ons or libraries or drivers that are specific to MacOS. Many factors are in play. Like I said, the more widely used O/S are more likely to have more bugs discovered (and rectified) compared to the niche MacOS.

 

[Markoth]

This doesnt say much about anything. So what if MacOS has a unix base? There are many add-ons or libraries or drivers that are specific to MacOS. Many factors are in play. Like I said, the more widely used O/S are more likely to have more bugs discovered (and rectified) compared to the niche MacOS.

As I explained, you are incorrect. I won’t explain it again.

 

[dampfnudel]

Apple has become a Phone and Services company.

Macs and even iPads are just side projects. Makes me sad, but this is what it is.

I’m guessing Tim has a 30% goal for services to rely less on the iPhone and make up for the inevitable phase out of the Macs.

 

[BootsWalking]

Apple's iPhone sales increased slightly despite the fact that the per unit prices of the flagship is much higher. This means people are not actually showing much resistance to the price increases. In the end, more money went to Apple. Apple cares about revenue and profit, not units sold. Wall Street should have gotten used to this years ago.

And what happens this year? Sales are still flat vs last year on a unit basis so do you think they'll raise the price of their top-tier phone again to keep revenue and profits growing?

 

[opeter]

Apple has become a Phone and Services company.

Macs and even iPads are just side projects. Makes me sad, but this is what it is.

Yes, but wasn't this somehow predicted in the past?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...pple-because-it-s-becoming-a-services-company

Also: Is Apple planning to ditch Mac?
So yeah, everything can happen.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I would love to have a reason to buy a new Macbook.
The problem is: Computers nowadays don't get slow as fast as they used to. Intel is barely making any progress and SSDs were already fast enough for any daily task years ago.

My MacBook Retina is from 2012 and not slowing down one bit. I have never had a PC for such a long time....

I’ve had my MBA since 2015 and I’ve had zero issues with it. It’s still as good as the day I bought it. I’ve never managed to make it through a year without running into problems with a windows machine and 3 years in the longest I’ve ever kept one for. My last windows laptop I bought in 2011 and by the start of 2014 it was dying a death. If I didnt have a chromebook at the time, I would have had to buy a new computer in 2014 rather than the start of 2015.

 

[MacBram]

single digit market penetration since the 80's.

Spin that however you like.

I don't have to spin it. As I said, more Macs than ever are selling. Plus, Apple makes the lion share of revenue and profits in that market, as it does in every other market it enters.

And more commodities than tools are bought, so what? There is now great freedom and choice in a "post-PC world", unlike 30yrs ago, as to what kind of tools and reliability and TCO (including time to fiddle with maintenance) do people need/want, to meet the computing needs they find themselves doing on a regular basis, the jobs to be done:

Does a family just need a $400 PC that gets them by and collects dust most of the time, while each member of the family gets a premium tablet and/or smartphone for work, education, and entertainment? Or, does a freelancer go for a $1900 Mac laptop as a reliable workhorse for day-in day-out use? The former PC is a commodity, lending itself to impulse purchase; while the latter is a tool -- the purchase of which the user weighed out.

Also, Apple's userbase isn't going anywhere as was thought 15-20years ago, but is increasing -- and increasing in relation to PC OEMs by virtue of Apple products having longer useful life for their users (as with Apple's tablets and phones vs Android devices).

The PC market is fairly saturated, and it is relevant to realize that the mobile device market is already an order of magnitude larger than the PC market was ever destined to be -- sort of like one PC per household, vs one (or more) mobile device per person on the planet; like there are more smartphones than cars. MS missed out on mobile, tried to emulate Apple, and lost billions on Nokia. Likewise, Google with Motorola, etc. Now, both Google and MS are trying to get into the premium hardware markets (and will be in competition with their OEMs)...

Nevertheless, the Mac is becoming more relevant than ever -- MS and Google are putting their efforts into cloud services that are platform independent. The average company is becoming more cloud-based, and giving more choice to its employees about what PCs and devices they use; and solutions companies like IBM are making the Mac a large part of the services they offer.

The world has changed, and despite the Mac being "doomed" for 30 years, it is still here... in fact, it is the Mac that has adapted and is adapting to the changing world, while Windows arguably has not: it is now the commodity filler for commodity products, just as Android is for most of the world's mobile devices.

 

[I7guy]

I'm glad we're conflicted with our American companies such that we praise Apple more than Google. Nonetheless, I am definitely proud of "designed in America" products that are assembled in China.

Do you love every sports team? I have my favorites, maybe when you go to a ballgame you hope both teams win.

I have no problems with made in China. Do you? Do you think Google’s server farms are 100% built in America?

 

[powerslave65]

I hain't a-buyin' me no red iPhone, if'n that's their idea of innovation. An' that there iPhone ex is too dadgum expensive. Hain't nobody buyin' it. They're doomed, I say, DOOMED!!

Nice Foghorn Leghorn!

 

[ropbo10]

That's great news, now Apple will increase the price of all their products (because they know people will still buy it). So... everybody wins! Apple, because they will sell less but make more profit, and us because we can now buy expensive products so we can tell our friends we have ton of money! Yehhh!

 

[gwaizai]

Wonder what sales figures will be for the next Iphone XI or whatever, now that everyone knows a new battery
will restore their "aging" phone to original performance?

The usual tidal wave of upgraders, might just be a ripple.

 

[RobaxMan]

And if you actually believe that each of those models is selling a nearly identical share... or that the X is barely outselling each of those old outdated models... well... i feel very sorry for you.

We have absolutely NO idea as to the sales numbers of each of the 8 iPhones that Apple is currently selling - just showing how easy it is for Cook and Apple to manipulate the language with respect to iPhone X sales.