Q1 2015
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Wall Street analysts make their final Q1 2015 predictions for Apple
(Table from Fortune.com, Philip Elmer-DeWitt) With only a few hours to go until Apple releases its Q1 2015 (October 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014) financial results, Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt has pulled together estimates from a number of Wall Street analysts on exactly how they think the company did. The numbers, from 30 professionals and 15 amateurs, are pretty incredible. First, Apple had provided guidance during the last call expecting revenues in the $63.5-$66.5 billion range. The amateurs think it's going to be about $69.27 billion, while the pros are a bit more pessimistic at "only" $68.28 billion. If one looks at the average of all the analysts, that's a year-over-year revenue gain of 19.3 percent over 2014's figure. Earnings are expected to be about $2.68 per share, which is up almost 30 percent year over year. But the big news? Apple's earnings could be the biggest in US corporate history. The current record is held by Exxon, which had a $15 billion third quarter in 2008. The analysts expect Apple to announce sales of 67.09 million iPhones (up 31.5 percent), 21.29 million iPads (down 18.2 percent), and 5.57 million Macs (up 15.2 percent). We'll be live-blogging the earnings call at 5 PM ET (2 PM PT) and would love it if you stopped by to check our commentary on the proceedings. See you then!
Microsoft's Surface tablet business is booming
Microsoft appears to be well past the days when it was writing off unsold Surface tablets and struggling to match Sony in game console sales. The Windows developer reports that its Devices and Consumer group's revenue grew 8 percent year over year in the last calendar quarter of 2014, thanks in no small part to healthy Surface and Xbox sales. It's not revealing shipment numbers for the Surface, but it notes that revenue for the slate computers shot up 24 percent versus a year earlier, thanks in no small part to the Surface Pro 3.
Join us tomorrow at 5 PM ET/2 PM PT for Apple Earnings Call Liveblog
On Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 5 PM ET (2 PM PT), be sure to join us for our traditional liveblog of the Apple Earnings Call. This quarter's call will be quite fascinating, as we should hear about record iPhone sales thanks to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, increasing market share for the Mac family, how Apple Pay is progressing (and contributing to Apple's bottom line) and more. Who knows? Maybe we'll even get an idea of when the Apple Watch will ship! You can listen to the call live through QuickTime streaming, and we'll be providing commentary and analysis as the call progresses. The link for the liveblog is here; please note that we won't be starting the actual event until about 4:50 PM ET, about 10 minutes before Apple goes live.
Screamride: For those who dream of disaster
It's only fair to start this with an apology to Screamride, which joins us just as every second game gets to be called a 'roller coaster ride,' usually because it has a car chase, some explosions, and at least one scene of the protagonist going NO NO NO N- [explosion cuts off the rest, but an additional NO is strongly implied]. Screamride, in contrast, is actually about roller coasters: riding them; building tightly coiled tracks for them; destroying them in fiery catastrophe. It's so in love with pleasing disaster that it's likely to be wrongly categorized as 'cinematic action game.'
Apple Q1 2015 earnings call on tap for January 27
Apple today announced that the next quarterly earnings call will be held at 5 PM ET (2 PM PT) on Tuesday, January 27, 2015. This, of course, will be the call at which results for the first fiscal quarter of 2015 (October 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014) will be discussed. The news should be fascinating, as it covers the period of time during which the wildly popular iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were first available in quantity. During the last fiscal quarter of 2014, Apple made $8.5 billion in profits on revenues of $42.1 billion, primarily thanks to sales of 39 million iPhones. During the last earnings call, Apple provided guidance for the first quarter of 2015 expecting revenues between $63.5 and $66.5 billion, with gross margins between 37.5 and 38.5 percent. As usual, TUAW will hold a liveblog of the event to accompany the call. We'll be sure to let you know about the liveblog in the days before January 27.
Take-Two revenue drops 12% in Q1 2015
Take-Two reported $125.4 million in net revenue for the fiscal first quarter of 2015, a three-month period of time that ended on June 30. That represents a 12 percent decline compared to the same quarter last year ($142.7 million), and a 35.8 percent drop from the previous quarter. The publisher also reported a net loss of $35.4 million, a 14.9 percent jump from its $30.8 million losses reported last quarter. That also compares favorably to the same quarter one year ago, as Take-Two's reported losses are a 42.8 percent decrease from the $61.9 million losses for fiscal Q1 2014. The publisher also announced a delay for one of its major upcoming releases, Turtle Rock Studios' Evolve, which will now launch on February 10, 2015. [Image: Take-Two Interactive]
Sony makes money on movies and games, but not on smartphones
It wasn't long ago that Sony, almost inexplicably for a company of its size and heritage, was losing money everywhere it went. After a few years of pain, however, things have begun to look up, with the company posting a first quarter net profit of around $265 million. The bulk of the good news comes from the PlayStation 4 and Sony Pictures, the company's film and TV arm that benefited from the successes of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and 22 Jump Street. The only sore point on the company's financials is that its mobile division continued to see sales of Xperia handsets drop -- a loss that even managed to offset a favorable bump in the exchange rate. The corporation is still predicting that it'll eat around $487 million in losses across the year, so don't be surprised if someone greenlights 23 Jump Street in the next couple of weeks.
EA's revenue climbs to $1.21 billion in Q1 2015
Electronic Arts reported a net revenue of $1.21 billion for the first quarter of the fiscal 2015 year (a three-month period that ended on June 30). That represents just over an eight percent increase compared to the company's revenue in the previous quarter ($1.12 billion) and a 27.9 percent increase year-over-year. It boosted its digital revenue by just over nine percent in the last quarter as well, from $491 million to $536 million. EA saw a decrease in its net income by 8.7 percent in the last quarter, from $367 million in Q4 of fiscal 2014 to $335 million. The company's reported net income for the quarter still represents a 50.9 percent increase when compared to the same quarter last year ($222 million). As for its expectations for the second quarter of the financial year (ending September 30), EA anticipates a drop in net revenue to $965 million. The publisher also announced the delay of two games today: Dragon Age Inquisition will now arrive in November, whereas Battlefield Hardline was pushed back to 2015. [Image: Electronic Arts]
Watch Dogs ships 8 million copies
Ubisoft has shipped 8 million copies of Watch Dogs since the game's launch in May, the company announced in its Q1 2014 – 2015 financial report. Sales for the quarter were above expectations, hitting €360 million of an expected €310 million, and that's thanks in large part to Watch Dogs, Ubisoft says. In its first week at retail, Watch Dogs sales hit 4 million, making it Ubisoft's "best-selling game ever in week one." It also broke the publisher's day-one sales records. "The success of Watch Dogs and the quality of our games portfolio presented at this year's E3 highlight our strategic positioning as well as our continuous drive for innovation, and affirm our long-term approach," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said in today's report. "Watch Dogs is now well-positioned as a major franchise and we will be able to replicate and build on its success in the coming years. Its sales performance testifies to Ubisoft's expertise as a creator of blockbuster brands." [Image: Ubisoft]
