Apple Reports Record March Quarter Results of $13.6B Profit on $58B Revenue, Boosts Dividend and Buybacks

[KPOM]

Are you saying that Apple beat expectations? Because that's all that matters.

And the stock is only up $2 after hours so far. Google can miss on the top and bottom line and the stock jumps $20 after hours.

I guess they didn't beat expectations by as much as expected.

Perhaps they were focused more on the future guidance. The dollar will hurt sales in Europe and Australia. The analysts did seem obsessed with the Watch, which will likely be a relatively small revenue product for now, and Tim Cook basically said as much.

 

[AlecZ]

Also, the rest of the market is down. In other news, remember APPL, that petrol company probably half the MR users kept accidentally looking up instead of AAPL? They died off at some point, not sure when.

 

[manu chao]

Didn't the US offer some type of reduced flat rate on bringing the cash into the US recently but Apple declined?

I think it was only discussed by politicians as well as industry and there lobbyists. AFAIK, such a tax holiday would have to be passed by Congress (as part of the budget).

 

[firewood]

Yeah, "employ" as in slave labor and indentured servitude.

You mean all those people in China who stand in long lines to voluntarily apply for those Foxconn jobs instead of going back to a more wonderful life in their home village? And end up with a lower statistical suicide rate than U.S. college students?

If you really care, you are free to start your own company and offer them better paying jobs.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Apple is the iPhone company. The other products don't even seem to matter anymore.

 

[manu chao]

So they're basically a smartphone company that sells a few other bits and bobs.
They're certainly doing well, the only sore point being they are heavily dependent on the iPhone.

But isn't it best to be dependent on a product that is linked to an infinite monthly payment the customer has fully accepted?

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They already have put aside the money for US taxes on overseas money.

They have put money aside for their profit calculations but the reported cash is the cash they have (they might even be required to publish that).

 

[5097842]

A few thoughts:

- a little concerned how iPhone revenue is 2/3 of the company, though not too concerned as they keep hitting homeruns year after year
- glad Mac revenue is ahead of iPad as a continuing reminder that Mac is still important and to keep pushing Mac and OS X forward (and I think they are)
- glad iPad revenue is behind Mac, perhaps a kick to get them to innovate instead of the lazy updates (iPad mini 3 especially)
- still think the watch launch has been a disappointment as supply is for some reason grossly inadequate
- hope some of that R&D spending is on new product categories to give me something else to enjoy using

 

[steve333]

Gee, think they can afford to give us a Mac Mini without soldered on RAM and a decent amount of power?

 

[5097842]

Gee, think they can afford to give us a Mac Mini without soldered on RAM and a decent amount of power?

That may hit gross margins too hard!

 

[firewood]

Yes, eventually they need to bite the bullet and pay the U.S. taxes.

Or they can just buy something outside the U.S., such as Toyota motors, the bank of China, all the farmland in Africa, or the Amazon rain forest.

 

[5097842]

I'm getting tired of waiting 9 months into a release cycle to feel safe installing the latest version only to have a new one come out 3 months later and start the same process all over again, so am already slowly moving away from having ALL of my stuff be products.

Yosemite and iOS 8 seem buggier to me than previous releases, and seem to be taking longer to clean up. I haven't had any showstoppers, just annoying glitches. But I'm still sticking with Apple as I think they're miles ahead of everyone else in ecosystem integration.

And if I ever think of straying, I have a Windows machine at work that reminds me how much better Apple is (though better is definitely not perfect).

 

[Cole Slaw]

But isn't it best to be dependent on a product that is linked to an infinite monthly payment the customer has fully accepted?

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They have put money aside for their profit calculations but the reported cash is the cash they have (they might even be required to publish that).

As long as the current model for selling smartphones continues in the U.S., Apple should do fine.
However, if that model were to change and customers were to have to buy their phones upfront, iPhone would be in trouble. You would see a lot more $300 Chinese smartphones around.
And since iPhone is 70% of Apple's profits, Apple stock would drop.
Not that I see that happening anytime soon, though.

 

[Teste]

But isn't it best to be dependent on a product that is linked to an infinite monthly payment the customer has fully accepted?

The reason the iPhone sells so much in the USA is because carriers hide the full price from customers. Take that away, make people pay full cost up front as if they were always buying unlocked phones, and Apple's legs would break.

It's rather interesting to see who actually holds the power in Apple's relationship with phone carriers. If they united and pressed Apple, they could get whatever they wanted.

 

[Glideslope]

Stock is up 65% in the twelve months. Why are you so pessimistic it will take until 2016 to reach trillion dollar cap?

Because the AW will be a failure.

 

[rdlink]

Yeah, "employ" as in slave labor and indentured servitude. But if we want to call that eh hem "labor" then great. Super.

I wonder if with the 58 eleventy trillion billion if they could POSSIBLY make some of the stuff here and pay people decent wages and benefits? Oh wait, never mind.

Make ignorant statements much?

 

[Jax44]

The reason the iPhone sells so much in the USA is because carriers hide the full price from customers. Take that away, make people pay full cost up front as if they were always buying unlocked phones, and Apple's legs would break.

It's rather interesting to see who actually holds the power in Apple's relationship with phone carriers. If they united and pressed Apple, they could get whatever they wanted.

Don't most Countries not have subsidies, and aren't the majority of iPhone sales outside the U.S. Now?.

 

[patsfan83]

The reason the iPhone sells so much in the USA is because carriers hide the full price from customers. Take that away, make people pay full cost up front as if they were always buying unlocked phones, and Apple's legs would break.

It's rather interesting to see who actually holds the power in Apple's relationship with phone carriers. If they united and pressed Apple, they could get whatever they wanted.

I dunno, I wouldn't bet against Tim. Push him too far and he just might buy the carrier and you'll be out of a job.

 

[RedOrchestra]

ONE trick ponies are never good, for corporations, in the long-run - all it takes is one miss of the flagship product and the market gets a little scrambly.

 

[EightyTwenty]

Mac. A measly 10% of sales.

More macs are being sold now than at any time in the entire history of the company. How is that a bad thing?

Percentages mean nothing.

 

[trip1ex]

As long as the current model for selling smartphones continues in the U.S., Apple should do fine.
However, if that model were to change and customers were to have to buy their phones upfront, iPhone would be in trouble. You would see a lot more $300 Chinese smartphones around.
And since iPhone is 70% of Apple's profits, Apple stock would drop.
Not that I see that happening anytime soon, though.

The model did change in the last year or so.

All the big guys let you treat the cost of your phone as a separate line item afaik. And so, when your phone is paid off, your monthly payment to your cellular provider goes down.

I can only see more customers choosing this model and more customers thus holding onto their phones longer since the cost of getting a new phone will be much more apparent than before. That and you have to think the rate of meaningful improvements to smartphones is going to slow during the next 5 years compared to the last 5.

 

[RedOrchestra]

...so, when your phone is paid off, your monthly payment to your cellular provider goes down.

NOT with my provider, here in Canada.

 

[Arndroid]

*Cue financially illiterate Apple fans lambasting the capital return program and saying that holding $200b in cash is the proper use of shareholder money.

I would argue apple would earn more with that money then 99.9999% of the shareholders would.

So yeah taking cash away from a company that turns money into multiples of itself yeah it is not the best idea. It is based on short-sighted, ignorant investors.

 

[dtich]

I'm betting Chinese New Year.

A big thank you to them as well!

was just in beijing. EVERYONE has an iPhone now.

 

[manu chao]

The reason the iPhone sells so much in the USA is because carriers hide the full price from customers. Take that away, make people pay full cost up front as if they were always buying unlocked phones, and Apple's legs would break.

It's rather interesting to see who actually holds the power in Apple's relationship with phone carriers. If they united and pressed Apple, they could get whatever they wanted.

They have not managed so far. And the US is only one market, more than two-thirds of Apple sales are outside the US.

 

[rekhyt]

Yeah... that poor $5.8 billion in revenue on $1.3 billion in profit. 10%. Really hurting them. *sarcastic*

Apple will NOT give up on the Mac, trust me! Not with those kind of numbers! Most companies would KILL KILL KILL to have desktop computer sales numbers like that.

Don't worry about the Mac folks, Apple will continue to invest in it.

E

I like to worry.

More macs are being sold now than at any time in the entire history of the company. How is that a bad thing?

Percentages mean nothing.