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Apple Q4 financial call set for October 18
Apple has announced the date for its Q4 financial call. The call will take place on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. PT. As usual, Apple will detail it's financial results for the quarter that ends this Friday, September 30th. Besides addressing this past quarter, the call should also feature plenty of questions from analysts about the number of iPhone 5 units sold on launch weekend (the iPhone 5 will presumably launch by that time) and other standard questions about Apple's product pipeline, which will no doubt earn the standard "Apple doesn't comment on future products" answer. This financial call will also be notable because it will be the first call with Tim Cook as Apple's CEO. No doubt there will be lots of questions about how the transition is progressing and about any perceived or material impact the transition is having on the company.
AAPL: Analysts forecasting stratospheric stock price
Yesterday Apple (AAPL) hit an all-time intraday price of $422.86 and currently it is trading around $413. However, those prices seem cheap compared to what almost every analyst thinks AAPL will do in the next twelve months. DailyFinance has a roundup of analyst expectations for Apple's (AAPL) stock price and it appears that the sky is the limit. Forty-six analysts believe AAPL will hit a mean of $500 in the next twelve months (not much of a stretch since that's only a 20% increase) while some believe the stock could hit as much as $666 a share in the same period. Their estimates are based on many things, including AAPL's EPS (earnings per share) forecast of $27.53 for 2011, and $32.39 for 2012, compared to $15.15 in 2010. It also doesn't hurt that, as I tweeted a few days ago, this is the second year in the row in which the iPad has no viable competition for the holidays. That means that the iPad will dominate holiday tablet sales again. And this holiday quarter is a much more important quarter to do it in than last year as tablets are hitting the mainstream now and are sure to be popular gifts not just among the tech crowd, but among mom and pop consumers as well. That's to say nothing of the iPhone 5 and rumored, cheaper iPhone 4S. Those three devices, plus the wild popularity of Apple's MacBook Airs will be why Apple owns this holiday season and why I believe the stock is going to hit $500 by January 1st. I know, I know, what does a blogger know about the stock market? But matter of fact, in 2009 when AAPL was trading at under $200 a share I wrote "I believe that AAPL could hit $300 by the end of 2010 and $400 the year later." I was blasted in the comments for writing that but, as it turns out, I was absolutely right. So this time I'm going to stick with my $500 January 1st target and I think the analysts at the higher end of the spectrum are dead right. AAPL could be trading well into the $600s be the end of next year. The sky's the limit. Disclaimer: This author owns shares in AAPL. Opinions in this post are those of the author only and should not be considered as investment advice.
Apple is worth more than all of these things
With Apple (AAPL) having a market cap of roughly US$387 billion, it becomes the most valuable company in the US. Matter of fact, it currently has a $30 billion lead over the next most valuable company, Exxon Mobil (XOM). However, market caps are boring. What's fun is to look at how much Apple is worth compared to other things. Like drugs, the Star Wars franchise and Denmark. That's exactly what the Things Apple is Worth More Than tumblr does. It turns out that at a market cap of $380 billion+, Apple is worth more than: All the illegal drugs in the world ($321 billion) The Star Wars, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Steven King, and Twilight franchises combined ($49 billion) The GDP of Denmark ($337 billion) and my personal favorite, the American obesity epidemic ($300 billion) The tumblr blog has more gems Apple is worth so be sure to check it out. It's an interesting list that really puts it in perspective just how much the Mac, iPhone and iPad maker is worth.
Apple up 7.2% since Jobs resigned
As last week ended, Apple stock closed above US$400 (as we publish this AAPL is at an all-time high of $410). What's more interesting is that AAPL has climbed 7.2 percent between last Friday, September 16 and August 25, when Steve Jobs announced his resignation. A 7.2% gain in about three weeks is impressive, but even more so on the heels of Jobs's departure. When Steve took a medical leave of absence in 2009, anxiety was high among Apple's investors and customers (not to mention Steve's friends and family). Then COO Tim Cook acted as interim CEO, guiding Apple through several successful product launches. Surely Cook's performance in 2009 has tempered the market's hesitation now that he's working as CEO. It's a nice show of faith in Tim's abilities, and a promising start to the Cook-era Apple.
Analysts downplay AAPL's dip as Jobs resigns
Apple's stock took a downturn yesterday, as might be expected after the resignation of Steve Jobs. According to WIRED, Apple's stock lost approximately 7.39 percent of its value in after-hours trading. A day later the stock has recovered well; as of this writing the stock price is actually higher than it was earlier in the week, though it still hasn't recovered the full value it lost yesterday. Apple's stock performance doesn't currently reflect the doom n' gloom that many pundits expected following Jobs's departure from his CEO role. Rather than a panicked sell-off, AAPL's performance over the past 24 hours appears to reflect confidence in both new CEO Tim Cook and Apple's future. Financial analysts have noted the drop, but they have said it's of little concern because Jobs's departure has been expected for a long time. A fair amount of financial analysis over the past few years has even suggested that uncertainty surrounding Jobs's health and Apple's CEO succession plan might have been holding the stock performance back. Of course, it's a little dangerous to make broad financial forecasts this soon after Jobs's resignation. Microsoft's stock price barely budged in the days after Bill Gates stepped down, but the stock declined sharply the following year (losing nearly half its value) and has been relatively stagnant since. Hopefully the same thing won't happen to Apple. If you're an investor, please take note that we are not financial analysts ourselves, and we're not offering any financial advice here.
Apple is now the world's most valuable company
Apple and ExxonMobil played market cap tag yesterday, but at market close today Apple has pulled ahead and is now the most valuable company in the world. Apple's market cap now stands at US$337.17 billion, over $6 billion more than Exxon's $330.77 billion market cap. Market cap is only one way of measuring a company's value, and one could certainly argue that Exxon's chief product, petroleum, is a far more vital commodity to the world market than Macs, iPhones, and iPads. It's still a watershed moment for Apple, however, and the psychological impact of having the world's highest market cap is pretty phenomenal for a company that was on the ropes just 12 years ago. Will Apple hold onto its spot at the top? It's impossible to say at this point, but unless Apple really stuffs something up in the near future, its competitors are going to have a hard time unseating Apple from its spot as the financial pinnacle of the tech industry.
Apple briefly passes ExxonMobil for largest US market cap
As we reported earlier today, Apple (AAPL) shares were up to US$367.91. At that price, for a few moments, Apple was "worth" $342 billion (overall market capitalization) while ExxonMobil (XOM) was at $341 billion with a $70.71 share price. That made Apple -- briefly -- the world's most valuable company. Once the market closed, however, Exxon was worth a whopping $352.90 billion, and Apple closed with a market cap of $347.10 billion. Not bad for either of them. The markets have obviously been volatile this week and last, leading to large losses for both companies' stocks, but Apple has managed to recover more today than Exxon, leading it to overtake the oil giant, if briefly. Apple is currently off about 8% from its all-time high of $404 a share, but ExxonMobil is off nearly 20% for its $88 high. Given that oil prices are continuing to fall, it looks like Apple could yet pull ahead for some time to retain the title "Most Valuable Company in the World."
Apple set to surpass ExxonMobil as world's most valuable company
Several sites are reporting that Apple is about to pass Exxon Mobil as the world's most valued company, by market capitalization. StreetInsider.com reports that Apple's market cap is US$333.7 billion while Exxon Mobil's is $338 billion, meaning they could hit that cap today. We'll keep an eye on it and let you know when Apple surpasses this landmark milestone. If it turns out to be true, congratulations to Steve Jobs and everyone at Apple. That's an amazing achievement.
Needham & Co. raises price target for AAPL
The stock market has been tanking all week, but that's not keeping financial firm Needham & Co. from being bullish on Apple. The company raised its price target for AAPL from US$450 to $540. So why the big jump? Needham's Charlie Wolf notes that the firm adjusted how it values Apple's different businesses and product lines. The iPad, for example, is now estimated to contribute about 12.2 percent to the value of Apple stock. That's up from the previous estimate, based on a new assumption that the iPad will continue to capture a larger share of the tablet market that Needham initially thought. The Mac is also adding to the party, thanks in part to a halo effect from the iPad. As more buyers become entranced with the iPad, they're more likely to purchase Macs in the future. The Mac product line is now valued at about 11.8 percent of AAPL's value. Likewise, iTunes has been bumped in importance as a contributing factor to the stock price (now 5.1 percent) thanks to the growth of the App Store. The biggest contributor? The iPhone, which provides almost 49.2 percent of the value of each share of Apple stock or about $266. That's also seen as a risk factor, since even a small decrease in growth of iPhone sales could have a huge impact on Apple stock price. Last but not least, Apple's cash hoard adds to the stock price value, contributing about 14.8 percent of the value. However you look at Apple, the company's performance in troubled financial times has so far been nothing less than stellar.
Apple Q3 2011 earnings released: Impressive, most impressive. (Updated)
Apple hit another home run in the third quarter of 2011. Total revenue for the quarter reached US$28.57 billion, as compared to $15.70 billion in the same quarter last year. Earnings per diluted share were $7.79, as compared to $3.51 last year. Net profit reached a staggering $7.31 B. All of these figures crushed the professional analyst estimates and even surpassed some of the more optimistic amateur AAPL watchers, as tracked by Phil Elmer-Dewitt. Sales numbers for Apple's lineup of products are as follows: 3.95 M Macs (14% year-over-year unit increase) 20.34 M iPhones (142% yoy increase) 7.54 M iPods (20% yoy decrease) 9.25 M iPads (183% yoy increase) That earnings per share number is really quite amazing; it's more than double the number from last year. Additional details will be available in the earnings conference call at 5 pm ET. We'll be listening in to the conference call and liveblogging all the fun -- join in! Show full PR text Apple Reports Third Quarter Results All-Time Record Revenue and Earnings iPhone Sales Grow 142 Percent; iPad Sales Grow 183 Percent CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 third quarter ended June 25, 2011. The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $28.57 billion and record quarterly net profit of $7.31 billion, or $7.79 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $15.70 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.25 billion, or $3.51 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 41.7 percent compared to 39.1 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter's revenue. "Right now, we're very focused and excited about bringing iOS 5 and iCloud to our users this fall." The Company sold 20.34 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 142 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 9.25 million iPads during the quarter, a 183 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 3.95 million Macs during the quarter, a 14 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 7.54 million iPods, a 20 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. "We're thrilled to deliver our best quarter ever, with revenue up 82 percent and profits up 125 percent," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Right now, we're very focused and excited about bringing iOS 5 and iCloud to our users this fall." "We are extremely pleased with our performance which drove quarterly cash flow from operations of $11.1 billion, an increase of 131 percent year-over-year," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the fourth fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $25 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $5.50." Apple will provide live streaming of its Q3 2011 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT on July 19, 2011 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq311.
AAPL hits all-time record high
Perhaps because of optimistic analysis going into tomorrow's conference call, Apple's stock price has hit an all-time high today. While the Dow Jones average was down overall, AAPL rose $6 at one point, hitting $371.06 as a high. That's huge -- bigger a stock price than it's ever been before. Analysts say that there are a few factors here, with the big expected earnings only one of them. The HTC patent ruling was another big piece of good news to Apple's investors, and a lot of Apple's moves in general have really been turning out well lately, from the integration of iOS subscriptions and Apple's deals with both media providers and developers, to more recent innovations like iCloud and the new versions of iOS and OS X coming soon. In short, Apple's hitting its stride in a whole new way, and there's still a lot of room to grow yet. Note: Past performance is never an indication of future stock prices. This post should not be considered sound financial advice.
AAPL's top owners have cashed in some stock recently
Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog has an interesting tidbit about Apple's stock lately. A blogger who calls himself Sammy the Walrus IV has been poking around into AAPL records, and has found out that several of Apple's top shareholders have sold some of the stock recently. There's nothing shocking here (nothing outside of the usual buy and sell on the stock exchange), but the numbers are interesting, with firms like Janus Capital and Capital Research investing back into AAPL for over a billion dollars each. Four of the top 10 holders of Apple shares have sold off some this past quarter, including Goldman Sachs, who got rid of 61% of its shares, and these same top 10 holders basically determine the fate of AAPL, as they own around 25% of the company as a whole. Again, these are all routine sales, and as you can see from the chart above, there's still plenty of AAPL buying going on (and we'll even state the obvious: this post should not be considered financial advice). But it's an interesting overview of some of the core firms and shareholders behind the movements of AAPL lately.
AAPL shares survive rebalancing on Nasdaq today
Last month the stock index Nasdaq announced that it would be rebalancing the weighting of AAPL shares to better reflect the actual number of shares floating on the market. At the time, AAPL accounted for 20.5 percent of the Nasdaq. After the rebalancing today, AAPL now accounts only for 12.5 percent of the Nasdaq. When Nasdaq made the announcement, it issued a warning that the rebalancing might affect AAPL shares in the short term due to fund managers readjusting their holdings. However, it seems that any negative effect on AAPL's share price was negligible. Apple closed down only 1.1 percent today to end at $346.45. Many see AAPL advancing to upwards of $540 a share by January, and some even think Apple will be the world's first trillion dollar company. Disclaimer: The author holds a position in AAPL. TUAW does not provide investment advice; consult an expert before buying or selling equities.
For the first time ever, Apple beats Microsoft in quarterly profit
Today Microsoft announced its net profit for the first calendar quarter of 2011. That net profit was $5.23 billion, or $760 million dollars less than Apple's $5.99 billion net profit over the same period. For those keeping track, first Apple surpassed Microsoft in market capitalization, next they surpassed Microsoft in quarterly revenue, and now Apple has surpassed Microsoft in quarterly profits. Surpassing Microsoft's net profit is quite an accomplishment given the typical high-margin sales of Microsoft's software and the lower-margin sales of Apple's hardware. Matter of fact, by every standard financial measure, Apple has now surpassed Microsoft to be the most profitable and valuable tech company on the planet. No wonder some people think Apple is headed to be the first trillion dollar company. [via MacRumors]
Apple hardware VP sells 99% of AAPL holdings
Apple's senior vice president of Mac and iPhone hardware engineering, Bob Mansfield, has sold 99 percent of his Apple holdings, leaving him with only 501 shares. The news comes from a recent SEC Form 4 filing, which lists Mansfield as selling 38,863 shares of AAPL at $351.89 each; total proceeds from the sale are in excess of $13.6 million. There are two things to take away from Mansfield's sale: 1. It in no way reflects his belief in the future of the company. Mansfield is just a smart investor. Sell high, buy back low. That's just his style and always has been. Plus he gets the usual 15 percent off employee stock purchase plan shares when he does buy through the ESPP. 2. Don't feel sorry for Mansfield because he only has 501 shares left. He's still got a fully vested option to buy 30,000 shares of AAPL at $36.54 -- that's a discount of almost 90 percent on today's prices –– and he also has 100,000 restricted stock units that will fully vest in 2014. Drinks are on Bob at WWDC, everyone. [via Apple 2.0]
Apple Q2 2011 Results Call Liveblog
Welcome to TUAW's liveblog of Apple's 2nd Fiscal Quarter Results call. During the call, we'll deliver a play-by-play of the details of the financial report for the quarter ending March 31, 2011. We will also be taking your questions and comments during the call. If you'd like to listen in on this very important financial call, Apple is making it available via QuickTime streaming audio at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq211/ beginning at 5 PM ET sharp. The call will be available for your listening pleasure for two weeks after today's event; the liveblog transcript is available on TUAW forever. iPhone and iPod touch users can join in on the fun using the free CoveritLive iPhone app. TUAW staffers will be manning the liveblog starting at 4:50 PM EDT; the call will begin about 10 minutes later. <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=9570191c8c" href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=9570191c8c" >Apple Q2 FY11 Earnings Call Liveblog</a>
Apple announces record revenue for 2nd quarter FY11
Ahead of today's 5 PM conference call, Apple released its earnings report for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 (otherwise known as the first calendar quarter). Profit number: $5.99B in the quarter. Total revenue for the quarter is US$24.6 billion, versus 13.5B year-over-year. Earnings per diluted share comes in at $6.40, versus $3.33 last year. Forecasting $23B revenue for the next quarter. Product sales numbers rolled in as follows: 28% up year over year in Macs with 3.76M sold in the quarter, 18.6M iPhones (113% unit growth), 9.02M iPods (including the iPod touch) and 4.69M iPads, including the iPad 2. (The number on iPad sales disclosed via the Samsung lawsuit was thought to be only counting the original iPad, but it may have included the iPad 2, which was supply-constrained.) We were expecting a big Mac number based on the predictions from Gene Munster and sales data from NPD. You can compare and contrast the actual numbers against the predictions made by Wall Street analysts and top stock bloggers via the compilation done over at Apple 2.0/Fortune Tech. We'll be listening in to the conference call and liveblogging all the fun -- join in! Full press release below. Show full PR text Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 second quarter ended March 26, 2011. The Company posted record second quarter revenue of $24.67 billion and record second quarter net profit of $5.99 billion, or $6.40 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 41.4 percent compared to 41.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 59 percent of the quarter's revenue. Apple sold 3.76 million Macs during the quarter, a 28 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 18.65 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 113 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 9.02 million iPods during the quarter, representing a 17 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The Company also sold 4.69 million iPads during the quarter. "With quarterly revenue growth of 83 percent and profit growth of 95 percent, we're firing on all cylinders," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year." "We are extremely pleased with our record March quarter revenue and earnings and cash flow from operations of over $6.2 billion," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $23 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $5.03." Apple will provide live streaming of its Q2 2011 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT on April 20, 2011 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq211. This webcast will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter. This press release contains forward-looking statements including without limitation those about the Company's estimated revenue and earnings per share. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive and economic factors, and the Company's reaction to those factors, on consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the Company's products; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the ability of the Company to deliver to the marketplace and stimulate customer demand for new programs, products, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product introductions and transitions, changes in product pricing or mix, and/or increases in component costs could have on the Company's gross margin; the inventory risk associated with the Company's need to order or commit to order product components in advance of customer orders; the continued availability on acceptable terms, or at all, of certain components and services essential to the Company's business currently obtained by the Company from sole or limited sources; the effect that the Company's dependency on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties may have on the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered; risks associated with the Company's international operations; the Company's reliance on third-party intellectual property and digital content; the potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others; the Company's dependency on the performance of distributors, carriers and other resellers of the Company's products; the effect that product and service quality problems could have on the Company's sales and operating profits; the continued service and availability of key executives and employees; war, terrorism, public health issues, natural disasters, and other circumstances that could disrupt supply, delivery, or demand of products; and unfavorable results of other legal proceedings. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results is included from time to time in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the Company's public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 25, 2010, its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 25, 2010, and its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 26, 2011 to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates. Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
iPad held 85% market share in 2010 according to ABI Research
ABI Research's 2010 analysis of the media tablet market reveals the iPad grabbed a respectable 85 percent market share. Trailing far behind the iPad was the Samsung Galaxy Tab with an eight percent market share and the Archos Internet tablets with a mere two percent market share. There three vendors accounted for 95 percent of all media tablets sold in 2010. These figures are not surprising considering Apple's jump on the competition. Launched in early 2010, the iPad kicked off this tablet revolution and other manufacturers have struggled to catch up. According to ABI, tablets will continue to hit retail shelves in large numbers. The market research company predicts manufacturers will ship 40 to 50 million tablets worldwide in 2011. With an increase in the number of Android tablets hitting the market and the debut of a dedicated tablet version of Android, the iPad 2 will finally have some serious competition. Though Android will make inroads into the tablet market, the iPad 2 is expected to keep the #1 spot for the next few years. Hopefully, we will get a glimpse of these industry leading sales figures later today during Apple's earnings conference call.
AT&T iPhone sales unaffected by Verizon launch
AT&T announced its first quarterly earnings for 2011 and sales of the iPhone 4 remain strong. According to the earnings statement, AT&T activated 3.6 million iPhones in the quarter ending March 31. This is a one million year over year increase and a slight drop from the 4.1 million activated in Q4 2010. Overall, AT&T added two million new subscribers to climb to 97.5 million total subscribers. This figure is also down from the 2.8 million subscribers AT&T added in the closing quarter of 2010. These sales numbers were recorded in the same quarter Verizon Wireless launched its version of the iPhone 4. Despite predictions the Verizon iPhone would lead to a mass exodus from AT&T, the wireless carrier confirmed that iPhone churn remained the same year over year. In fact, about 23 percent of iPhone buyers in Q1 were new to AT&T. Apple reports it quarterly earnings today at 5 p.m. ET and Verizon reports its earnings tomorrow. It will be interesting to see where the remaining iPhone numbers fall.
NPD: Mac sales up 47% in March
The numbers are out on NPD's March report for computer sales, and our favorite Apple analyst, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, said MacBook Pro sales continued to drive Mac sales overall, boosting them up to a 47 percent year-over-year-growth. Munster says that despite an overall drop in the amount of PC sales worldwide, Apple will likely announce Mac sales of 3.6 to 3.7 million units, which is slightly more than Wall Street expects. iPod sales, however, are reportedly down according to Munster and NPD's accounting. The analyst still expects sales to come in above expectations, but they're charting a 10 percent year-over-year drop for Apple's music players. Apple is set to announce earnings during a conference call this Wednesday -- we'll be listening in, of course, and we'll let you know what we hear.
