Apple to Announce Q1 2019 Earnings on January 29, iPhone Unit Sales Won't Be Included

[Wiesenlooser]

They deserve it. Pricing has gotten out of hand.

Saying that battery upgrades are the reason is them basically admitting that there is no reason to buy a new iPhone anymore.

The iPhone is becoming a mature product and the collision with the increased pricing was unfortunate. I think it worked for the iPhone X because it was so new but to think it would work on the XS was pure ignorance on apples part.

 

[Spoon!]

They deserve it. Pricing has gotten out of hand.

Saying that battery upgrades are the reason is them basically admitting that there is no reason to buy a new iPhone anymore.

The iPhone is becoming a mature product and the collision with the increased pricing was unfortunate. I think it worked for the iPhone X because it wasn’t so new but to think it would work on the XS was pure ignorance on apples part.

Yeah the X was completely new and the higher price felt justified. The XS feels like a cash grab, IMO.

 

[Ronlap]

I watch the keynotes every year. This was the first year where the iPhone announcement was downright embarrassing. Phil the Shill struggled to name a single major feature that made me want to upgrade from my iPhone X.

I'll be traveling to Hong Kong in a couple months and will pick up an XS so that I can use two "real" SIMs and swap as I please. I can't believe that they didn't put two SIM trays in all of their phones like every other vendor.

Having said that, I am worried about the delay in product launches. Most products seems to be released 1-2 years later that they should. Despite massive investment in R&D. The smart speaker could have been revolutionary if it had been released 2 years earlier. Same with the new Mac Pro.
Unfortunately it’s hard to catch up.
Apple Watch still feels ahead of the competition. Not sure about the rest.

My guess is that they are filling up all those new HQ buildings with the best engineers in the world. Engineers who can develop incredible technologies like... like... like Animoji. I mean, isn't that a freakin' game changer that will save the world? </sarcasm>

It’s because he’s not good at his job. He’s good at finding money left on the table via the supply chain but he doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing as CEO. He has never been able to articulate why someone should buy an Apple product. He depends on Ive for that and that dude is super confused on what people actually want.

Good 'ol Jony. He's not confused, he has no clue whatsoever how people actually use their devices and I don't think he cares. Designers don't have to. Thinner, thinner, thinner. Don't worry about dropping useful stuff from the device. People don't care. They'll buy whatever thin cr*p I sling out the door.

 

[robjulo]

For starters, that is revenue, not profit.

Am I the only one who thinks that 84 Billion USD is still a pretty good profit?


Having said that, I am worried about the delay in product launches. Most products seems to be released 1-2 years later that they should. Despite massive investment in R&D. The smart speaker could have been revolutionary if it had been released 2 years earlier. Same with the new Mac Pro.
Unfortunately it’s hard to catch up.
Apple Watch still feels ahead of the competition. Not sure about the rest.

 

[sza]

Tim Crook should step down ASAP.

Apple needs to go back to be product first strategy, not the profit first.

 

[simonmet]

I think it’s funny if their strategy to grow revenue by pumping up prices and margins has backfired. People are getting fed up with greedy Tim.

I’d have bought a new Mac if the prices were 15-20% lower, but I held onto my cash because I don’t want to support Apple gouging their customers.

 

[BeforeTheMeds]

2 comments

1. Apple is not doomed.

2. 84 billion earned is not 84 billion profit so don’t quote it as so. (Not referring to the article).

 

[jimothyGator]

84 billion earned is not 84 billion profit so don’t quote it as so. (Not referring to the article).

Earnings and profit are the same thing. However, $84B was revenue, not earnings.
[doublepost=1546479863][/doublepost]

I know it sounds terrible, but I want a poor earnings report. I want Apple to get the message they are moving in the wrong direction.

Regrettably, I agree. As an Apple investor, I see this as bad news. But as a lifelong Apple user and customer, I see that Apple needs a kick in the pants. They’ve been taking their customers for granted, thinking they’ll keep paying ever higher prices, but even the most loyal customers have their breaking point. Looks like Apple might have found that point.

It’ll take more than one disappointing quarter before Cook is ousted. Maybe he will receive the wake up call and set things right before that’s necessary. But something is rotten in Cupertino.

 

[MacManiac1]

They sure could use some next great thing - whatever that is!

 

[organic bond]

This is very important news, it should be The main article.

Anyways, all I can say is finally. Finally people are not buying their products as much as before. Hopefully Apple will come to terms with reality. I've been using Apple products since 1981 but I have more and more doubts these days, their prices are nothing less than insulting and their technology is mostly not up to date. Now they pay. Good. And remember, Cook sold his AAPL shares in October. Wonder why...

 

[danielsutton]

Apple today updated its investor relations page to announce that it will share its earnings for the first fiscal quarter (fourth calendar quarter) of 2019 on Tuesday, January 29.

Along with the notice on when to expect earnings results, Apple today also announced revised guidance for the first fiscal quarter, which will make the January earnings call an interesting one.

Apple now expects revenue of $84 billion and gross margin of 38 percent, down from a guidance of $89 to $93 billion provided in November during the fourth quarter earnings call.

Apple CEO Tim Cook provided several reasons for the drop in an open letter to investors:

[*]iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR launch timing compared to iPhone X timing in 2017
[*]A strong U.S. dollar
[*]Supply constraints on Apple Watch Series 4, iPad Pro, AirPods, and MacBook Air
[*]Economic weakness in emerging markets, specifically China
[*]Trade tensions with China
[*]Lower than anticipated iPhone revenue, primarily in China
[*]Weak iPhone upgrade numbers in some developed markets due to fewer carrier subsidies and low-priced battery replacements in 2018

The earnings call will provide more detailed information on Apple's revised guidance, though the January 29 earnings report will be the first without specific unite sales data for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, which Apple said it would stop providing back in November.

It marks a major change in the way that Apple's sales data is reported, making estimating iPhone, Mac, and iPad product sales more difficult. At the time the change was announced, Apple CFO Luca Maestri said that the company does not believe unit sales over the course of a 90-day period are an indicator of the underlying strength of its business.

Apple CEO Tim Cook today provided CNBC with a little more info on its decision, pointing out that the company never offered Apple Watch sales data because of the price range and the lack of value in sharing sales numbers. The iPhone, Cook says, is now in the same position.Cook says that the sales data that it was providing to investors was conflating its value and its usefulness to determining the state of Apple's business.

According to Cook, Apple doesn't plan to never comment on units again and will provide data on unit sales if it will better explain results.

Apple is going to make additional disclosures, such as gross margin of services, a business that has grown significantly in recent years.

The quarterly earnings statement will be released at 1:30 PM Pacific/4:30 PM Eastern, with a conference call to discuss the report taking place at 2:00 PM Pacific/5:00 PM Eastern. MacRumors will provide coverage of both the earnings release and conference call on January 29.

Article Link: Apple to Announce Q1 2019 Earnings on January 29, iPhone Unit Sales Won't Be Included

As prices go up, sales numbers go down. This is a very similar situation to the one that Apple found itself in in the 1990s, when their Mac sales numbers were flagging. They raised the prices, which drove down unit sales dramatically, and nearly killed the company. If Apple is not careful, and does not drop the prices on its ludicrously overpriced hardware, they will find themselves back on their deathbed

I appreciate a lot of what Apple does, and Inhavr an iPhone and a MacBook Pro, but I am aghast at their sales practices, and it makes me want to hold on to my devices for as long as I can before upgrading. The more the products cost, the less often I will buy them. Seems like a lot of customers in many different markets feel the same way

 

[dilbert99]

Am I the only one who thinks that 84 Billion USD is still a pretty good profit?


Having said that, I am worried about the delay in product launches. Most products seems to be released 1-2 years later that they should. Despite massive investment in R&D. The smart speaker could have been revolutionary if it had been released 2 years earlier. Same with the new Mac Pro.
Unfortunately it’s hard to catch up.
Apple Watch still feels ahead of the competition. Not sure about the rest.

It’s more like putting your money in the bank and only getting 1% rather than 5%, if you were expecting 5%, you’d be unhappy. Same with shares, people buy them expecting a certain amount of growth or dividends.

Apple is being hit for overcharging/gouging customers and they have had enough.
[doublepost=1546489397][/doublepost]

Apple is still making all the money in this industry. So yes, it’s making incredible profits.

No its not otherwise all the other phone makers would have gone bust.

 

[TonnyM]

It seems that Chinese market will be getting more and more difficult to Apple. There is no way to predict some political aspects and there is no long term solution or way to prevent those problems.

 

[Ramchi]

Earnings and profit are the same thing. However, $84B was revenue, not earnings.
[doublepost=1546479863][/doublepost]
Regrettably, I agree. As an Apple investor, I see this as bad news. But as a lifelong Apple user and customer, I see that Apple needs a kick in the pants. They’ve been taking their customers for granted, thinking they’ll keep paying ever higher prices, but even the most loyal customers have their breaking point. Looks like Apple might have found that point.

It’ll take more than one disappointing quarter before Cook is ousted. Maybe he will receive the wake up call and set things right before that’s necessary. But something is rotten in Cupertino.

Typical corporations do that after three consecutive quarters of disappointing performance(may be IBM was an exception where they persisted the same CEO even after 24 months of making loss) but Apple still making profits hence TC should be fine.

People like Tim works many quarters ahead in their business strategy hence they will definitely have more control over the earnings part.

He probably couldn't visualise Apple selling affordable iPhones year after year, yet making increased earnings. May be they have reached the point where they are in a position to sell at cheaper but with even more innovations to sustain their earlier run. Only product team can do that with lots of efficiency. May be this is the reason they have taken long battles like Qualcomm, it's own GPU, even investing in display techs pointing towards this aspect

 

[Mescagnus]

[*]Supply constraints on Apple Watch Series 4, iPad Pro, AirPods, and MacBook Air

Article Link: Apple to Announce Q1 2019 Earnings on January 29, iPhone Unit Sales Won't Be Included

Ah, so that's why Apple is knowingly letting bent iPad Pros pass their QC and land in customers' hands: to better meet the constrained supply.

 

[Nuvi]

Interesting that Tim did not list $1k iPhones as a reason for less earnings but listed a $30 discount on battery replacement as a reason for poor earnings.

In Europe you have the iPhone XS Max (512GB) costing around 1650€. That’s around $1875!!! Maybe... just maybe it’s tad bit too expensive Timmy...

I’m well aware the much more “affordable” and more common option is the 256GB Max but even that one is over $1600. China might be a big reason why sales are going down but I’m sure vast majority of markets are down also.

More importantly iOS is loosing market share to Android and this will definitely impact the developers. Sooner or later developers will prioritise Android over iOS and when you can’t get the apps that you want then there won’t be a reason to get iOS device in the first place.

Tim needs to get his head out of his ass and start to think about platform and not short term profit. Apple needs competitive pricing on their high end devices. Also, Apple needs real line up of devices from low end to high end if they want be relevant in the future. More and more kids are buying Android because you get way more more bang for the buck. In matter of fact they don’t even want iPhone in the first place. iPhone has become “old people’s device” in many European markets.

 

[WilliamG]

I watch the keynotes every year. This was the first year where the iPhone announcement was downright embarrassing. Phil the Shill struggled to name a single major feature that made me want to upgrade from my iPhone X.

Only one word made me upgrade. “Max.”

 

[Proji]

It’s because he’s not good at his job. He’s good at finding money left on the table via the supply chain but he doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing as CEO. He has never been able to articulate why someone should buy an Apple product. He depends on I’ve for that and that dude is super confused on what people actually want.

That’s what made Steve Jobs so good, he knew what people wanted even if they didn’t know themselves. His ability to identify the future is what put Ive and the rest of Apple on the right track.

 

[Spizike9]

I know it sounds terrible, but I want a poor earnings report. I want Apple to get the message they are moving in the wrong direction.

I’ve been saying this to myself for the past year or so.
[doublepost=1546500261][/doublepost]

Yeah the X was completely new and the higher price felt justified. The XS feels like a cash grab, IMO.

The X felt like cash grab for me too.

 

[Spoon!]

The X felt like cash grab for me too.

Yeah kind of. But they at least had an excuse. I did enjoy the “one more thing” when they announced it, but the nostalgia wore off quite fast.

 

[Shiro_Simba]

The phones affected by the program were 4-5 years old that had batteries that naturally died. I bet going forward this will limit how far Apple will go to try to extend the life of products. They figured out a way to keep phones with spiking batteries from being destroyed by a spike via software and it ended up costing them money to keep customers happy and sales.

No phones were being destroyed . They were shutting down. Patch meant customer and Apple did not have to spend money , short term, longer term , phones become slow and customers upgraded.
[doublepost=1546504696][/doublepost]No doom for Apple.

The customer base though is pushing back on prices. When companies stop providing data, it’s for very good reasons, avoid panic for a declining graph.

Tim needs to review the sculley years and pivot , or continue chasing profits at all costs ..... but who will return to fix it all ??
[doublepost=1546505439][/doublepost]

This is very important news, it should be The main article.

Anyways, all I can say is finally. Finally people are not buying their products as much as before. Hopefully Apple will come to terms with reality. I've been using Apple products since 1981 but I have more and more doubts these days, their prices are nothing less than insulting and their technology is mostly not up to date. Now they pay. Good. And remember, Cook sold his AAPL shares in October. Wonder why...

1980 user here . I hear your loud and clear , my stocks serve me well, though I see apple heading down the Sculley Era now . And that scares me, I care more for having apple around for the average user in the future , than short term greed . Today already, you have to be very well off to upgrade to thier new hardware.

 

[Substance90]

Hopefully this will make them catch up with reality.

 

[HacKage]

I wish I could go through and quote all the comments from previous threads that said that Apple not announcing sales figures was because they didn't matter. Now they have issued their first profit warning in 17 years, lets not pretend the 2 aren't linked.

The markets reacted to the no sales figures news and the share price tumbled. Investors aren't daft. If sales are good, you let everyone know and the share price goes through the roof. Now they have dropped another what, 7.5%?

They reached $1T in August, and today they sit at $749B. So in 4 months they've lost 25% value. Which other companies have lost this much in such a short period of time, and weren't in complete free fall. Apple may not be doomed, but they better stop what they are doing in trying to gouge customers and get their act together!

 

[navaira]

The Guardian referred to Apple as "the phonemaker", and so does almost everyone in this thread. Hmmm, if only they had any other products on offer, such as portable computers with working keyboards, computers for professionals, new desktop computers... but of course I understand that with such sparse resources and few employees it's not possible to try and produce more than one product and its larger offshoot (iPad). /s

Warning for Apple: when Samsung caused me two years of suffering with Galaxy S3, they ended up with exploding Notes and a massive drop in revenue. Now that I tried five MBPs and returned all of them because of identical keyboard problems, suddenly the stocks drop 25% in four months. Treat me well, Tim. I am the emperor of the universe (apparently).

 

[canny]

I really don’t know how Tim Cook still has his job. The other tech giants have visionaries as leaders. Cook has no vision at all.

I was hoping when he took over that he would just be an interim leader, but he’s built a whole grey bureaucracy around himself to allow him to survive.