Apple Reports Strongest Ever Quarterly Earnings: $13.1 Billion Profit on $57.6 Billion in Revenue in Q1 2014

[Gudi]

Apple simply changed the way it was accounting for certain revenue. The simply deferred $900 million in actual hardware revenue earned this quarter to future quarters in order to account for future software updates. That does not mean that they didn't earn the additional revenue!

Okay. I'm not an accountant, but isn't the comparability of numbers always questionable, through different number of days in a quarter and thousand other reasons? Still we need to compare something, and why not the official numbers Apple reports? The guidance range for next quarter revenue isn't so good either.

 

[HAMEYO]

Apple is doomed

Seriously they're really hitting on all cylinders and this is good news to the investors and us customers.

I just hope they take these profits to increase their innovation, the so called iWatch and TV are nowhere to be seen and we've not seen any major changes to the iDevices.

Edit:
Looks like the folks who follow this more accurately detail a less then rosy picture, due to lack of growth.

AAPL is MANIPULATED BY THE VILLAIN !!!!!!

 

[flottenheimer]

...Growth definitely slowing, time for new product lines.

What Apple can't afford is to release products that fail.

Had Apple released any of the current 'smart watches' they would have been seriously slammed by the press and sales would have been disasterous.

New Apple products should come, when new products are ready.

 

[KPOM]

What I'm not quite clear on is that Apple seemed to not project any revenue boosts for next quarter due to new product category launches (Tim reiterated in the call that several would be coming in 2014). This seems to suggest that if an Apple watch or other new products are coming, they will probably be shoved into the last part of 2014.

Which makes sense. Not many "game changers" are actually released between January-March. The iPod first came out in October 2001, the iPhone first came out in June 2007, and the iPad in April 2010.

 

[milo]

What I'm not quite clear on is that Apple seemed to not project any revenue boosts for next quarter due to new product category launches

It's still possible that they release a new product later in the quarter, which wouldn't boost numbers until the following quarter.

 

[luckydcxx]

The figures could be stronger, much much stronger, if had been offering iPhones with various sizes over the last 2 years. Mind blowing how they let other phone manufacturers grabbing the market (big screen phones) without an own product.

i agree that there should be an iPhone with a larger screen, but it is apple's philosophy that they only make great products and that takes time. They will not just slap a bigger screen on something. They carefully craft the device to make the best possible experience while using the bigger screen. Samsung has like 53 different models of their phones, this isn't what Apple does.

 

[IJ Reilly]

What I'm not quite clear on is that Apple seemed to not project any revenue boosts for next quarter due to new product category launches (Tim reiterated in the call that several would be coming in 2014). This seems to suggest that if an Apple watch or other new products are coming, they will probably be shoved into the last part of 2014.

Most of Apple's new product intros historically (since abandoning MWSF at least) have come in the third calendar quarter, or near the end of the second, so that's not a big surprise.

 

[thedeejay]

If I had a dollar for every time they asked a future product question, I'd be rich by now. My god, these guys never learn.

 

[HAMEYO]

The stock is off 5% after hours. The iPhone number was a big "miss" though earnings and margin were slight beats.

Ha,Ha,Ha, You're ONE OF LACKAY of VILLAIN who FIND FAULT of Apple DESPERATELY, Bastard !

 

[IJ Reilly]

Which makes sense. Not many "game changers" are actually released between January-March. The iPod first came out in October 2001, the iPhone first came out in June 2007, and the iPad in April 2010.

A lot of products used to be announced in January but not anymore

 

[milo]

That's a big drop for iPods, I wonder how long before Apple consolidates into fewer models or drops the line completely. Do they really need the iPod touch now that there's a mini? I'd at least like to see them keep the nano around so they have one small (and relatively cheap) music player available, but it seems like in general the iPod's days are numbered.

 

[Buck987]

You really think mac pro should have given the quarter a boost? Considering it started shipping the last week of the quarter?

its not all i listed...but anyway....I don't know if they should give a pop...i do know they can go for 12K each.

I don't think (IMO and in my research) that the launch of the mac pro was all that well received. I do believe stuff like that matters.

 

[luckydcxx]

The Mac Pro has as much to do with Apple's bottom line as that shiny quarter you found on the sidewalk has to do with your retirement fund.

i was strictly talking about innovation ... and the mac pro definitely brings innovation to the table.

"can't innovate anymore my ass"

 

[HAMEYO]

So apparently Apple is down 4% in after hour trading !

OBVIOUSLY AAPL is MANIPULATED by The VILLAIN, We who Are Engaged in Market Business ALL KNOW THAT !!!!!!

 

[TallManNY]

It's not that meaningless. It highlights one inherent danger with AAPL. It remains mostly a one pony stock. Should iPhone profits decline (which they most likely will given the inevitable commoditization in this market) AAPL price may collapse very fast.

Like the commoditization of the PC market? How long did that take? 20 years? 30? And yet even now Apple still sells very upmarket PCs.

The current smartphones are rudimentary. As an example, the A.I. in them is nearly non-existent and that is what folks want. We've got years of advances to come in them and as long as Apple makes, arguably, the best smartphone out there, they will sell a ton.

 

[lilo777]

And the worst part is...

that because of AAPL it is very likely that the entire market will probably go down tomorrow (as will our 401Ks)

 

[cbrad8582]

The Mac Pro has as much to do with Apple's bottom line as that shiny quarter you found on the sidewalk has to do with your retirement fund.

I like it!!!

 

[NewbieCanada]

that because of AAPL it is very likely that the entire market will probably go down tomorrow (as will our 401Ks)

It's been going down since Thursday last week, thanks to issues in China. But this sure won't help.

 

[TallManNY]

i agree that there should be an iPhone with a larger screen, but it is apple's philosophy that they only make great products and that takes time. They will not just slap a bigger screen on something. They carefully craft the device to make the best possible experience while using the bigger screen. Samsung has like 53 different models of their phones, this isn't what Apple does.

Dude, if they make a bigger iPhone it is just going to be a bigger screen. There isn't really much crafting of a better experience between the iPod Touch, iPad Mini, and iPad Air. It is just screen size. The products are well made, and thought is given to the screen size (and to how the OS fits on that screen). But let's not get carried away. They still see the iPhone as a phone that goes in their jean's front pocket. So in that case, smaller is better. Many folks are basically using their phone as an email reader and almost never as a phone that they actually hold up to their ear. Maybe in those circumstances bigger is better.

 

[KPOM]

that because of AAPL it is very likely that the entire market will probably go down tomorrow (as will our 401Ks)

Well, since both Apple and Samsung missed sales expectations, make up more than 100% of the profits, and reported weaker than expected guidance, it's a sign that the overall smartphone market is reaching a saturation point. Sure, unit sales are growing, but it's mostly feature phones being replaced by low-end, low-margin smartphones.

 

[macsForLife]

The bottom line is, if you think today's numbers are in any way negative or an indicator of poor performance/poor outlook, you're insane. EPS went up, and that's important. Sales went up, and that's huge. Just wait till there's a 4.5-5.5" iPhone available...they'll easily add many millions onto that sales number without even trying.

If you think Apple's market cap is too high, you're also crazy. Their P/E ratio is so low it's almost comical, given what it is for other firms in the industry. This is just more idiocy from analysts who don't know the first thing about the sectors they're covering. The 60 million number was idiotic, and I can tell that there is no real formula behind it. Anyone of us could have probably come just as close to predicting the number.

I'm pretty happy with these results. And with the shares dropping, it's time to buy.

 

[Dmunjal]

And if profit was up but revenue was flat (or down) the stock would be tanking because or no revenue growth. Wall Street wants the impossible - higher revenue, higher margins, higher profits, higher market share, cheaper prices.

But Apple did this from 2001-2010 and the stock went up 10 fold because of it. It is possible but much harder after you get near $500B valuation.

 

[KPOM]

That's a big drop for iPods, I wonder how long before Apple consolidates into fewer models or drops the line completely. Do they really need the iPod touch now that there's a mini? I'd at least like to see them keep the nano around so they have one small (and relatively cheap) music player available, but it seems like in general the iPod's days are numbered.

From Macworld's comments during the analyst call, it looks like it took Apple a bit by surprise, as well (they called it a "headwind"), though it was such a small part of profits it really didn't affect results much. It probably marks the end of the iPod's run. They should consolidate the product line and probably just let it ride off into the sunset.

 

[lilo777]

Like the commoditization of the PC market? How long did that take? 20 years? 30? And yet even now Apple still sells very upmarket PCs.

The current smartphones are rudimentary. As an example, the A.I. in them is nearly non-existent and that is what folks want. We've got years of advances to come in them and as long as Apple makes, arguably, the best smartphone out there, they will sell a ton.

You can't be serious about A.I. A.I. has been around for almost half a century and the most it managed to achieve so far is to win on Jeopardy. Regardless, Siri's example clearly shows that phone users do not have any problems that they would want A.I solved for them. They want to twit and snapchat and current phones are perfectly capable to serve them there.

 

[Dmunjal]

Profit actually beat expectations, and revenue was in line with expectations. Plus, relative to Samsung (which actually saw profits shrink), Apple handily outperformed.

What seems to be the concern is the iPhone unit shipment number, which came in at 51 million vs. expectations of 55 million. So it's actually the complete opposite of what you said. What it seems the Street is concerned about is that between Samsung's results last week and Apple's today, the smartphone market is saturated, and that all the "growth" in volume shipments are at the low-end where Apple doesn't compete and where there's no money anyway. What it discounts is that Apple is actually outperforming at the high end, and still has some headroom because it can take more of the high-end by releasing a larger iPhone and taking back some of the market share that the Galaxy and Note lines have taken.

I'm not talking about expectations of 55M vs. 51M. I'm talking about YoY iPhone and iPad sales. They sold more than last year and revenue was up but profit was flat. Shrinking margins is a problem.