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Apple planning a $5 billion bond offering
Thanks to the fun and excitement of financial accounting, even companies with $178 billion in cash need to incur some debt every once in a while. That's exactly what Apple has in store for the near future, filing a bond sale prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the amount of $5 billion. That amount isn't actually listed in the prospectus; the Associated Press reported the amount earlier today. What will Apple do with that little pile of debt? Probably fund the capital reinvestment program that has been buying back shares of Apple stock and paying quarterly dividends to shareholders. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Deutsche Bank Securities will handle the bond sale, which is coming at a time when the U.S. bond market is suffering and 30-year bonds are at a record low. Apple has issued other bond offerings in the past, including a $17 billion six-part offering in 2013. At the time, that offering was the largest ever for a US corporation. Another $12 billion bond sale was offered in 2014, and the company made a Euro bond offering late in 2014.
AAPL reaches an all-time high share price
Not all the news is gloomy today; shares in Apple reached an all-time new high today on analysts at Argus raised their price target to $135 per share with a "buy" rating. The share price peaked at 120.00 at one point this morning, and is currently wavering around the $119 mark.
AAPL share price hovering near all-time high
Here's a surprise -- usually the day after Apple announces record-breaking financial performance, the stock drops. Today, however, on the heels of truly astounding news and optimistic statements from Apple executives, the share price has been climbing. Based on bad economic news yesterday, the stock markets fell sharply, leaving AAPL at 109.14 per share at the close of trading. This morning, however, the share price opened at 117.62 and has been wavering around that mark. Apple's share price reached an all-time high of 119.00 on November 26, 2014, resulting in a market valuation for the company of $700 billion. Should it reach or surpass that level today or in the near future, we'll be sure to let you know as soon as possible.
Apple's last quarter profit the biggest in history for any corporation
Read that headline again. Apple's most recent quarter (Q1 2015) profit of $18.02 billion is now the biggest ever for all corporations on Planet Earth, ever. The previous winner was Russia's Gazprom (a natural gas extractor), with measly profits of $16.2 billion. Our buds at TechCrunch bring up the fact that this means Apple makes about $8.3 million in profit each and every hour of every day. I think Tim Cook deserves a raise.
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!
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.
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.
Analyst predicts Apple will sell 71.5M iPhones in Q4
Considering that Apple just hit a record $700 billion market valuation, it's probably going to be a happy holiday around the Cupertino offices, but there may be even more cause for celebration. Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at KGI, is predicting that Apple will sell 71.5 million iPhones this quarter thanks to demand for the iPhone 6. The report was discovered by AppleInsider. It's interesting to see just how important to current iPhone demand the iPhone 6 is, even when considering lower level iPhones like the 5s and 5c. According to KGI Apple is expected to 41.6 million units of the iPhone 6, but only 15.1 million of the 6 Plus. For comparison, the 5s is on track to sell 8.8 million units while the 5c is predicted to move 4.3 million. Those are all impressive numbers, but they're dwarfed by the massive number predicted for the iPhone 6. Of course the lower numbers for the iPhone 6 Plus aren't from a lack of demand. Kuo's report says that the continuing product shortage shows there's a desire for the product, and confirms that rumors of production issues are true. If the supply issue can be fixed, the report says the final numbers may change. The report also suggests that Q1 will see sales drop below 50 million units. We look forward to the next earnings call to see how these numbers pan out.
Apple hits new record $700 billion market valuation
As of November 24, 2014, Apple Inc had the largest market valuation of any company in the world. This morning, November 25, the company's value hit $700 billion, retaining its title and setting a new record for market valuation. To put Apple's success into perspective, the second most valuable company at the moment is Exxon Mobil Corp, with a current market valuation of $405 billion. Apple has had an incredibly profitable year thanks to September's record-breaking sales of its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which sold over 10 million units in just the first weekend of sales. The new product push continued in October with the release of two new models of the iPad. Finally, the company introduced the world to Apple Pay, which is already accounting for almost 1% of sales transactions at Whole Foods since it launched and is quickly being adopted by other retailers. Things are going well for Apple. According to Bloomberg analyst Brian White of Cantor Fitzgerald, Apple's recent growth wasn't just about its own products, but the competition's as well: Given Apple's significant portfolio refresh over the past three months, the lack of innovation from competitors and a constructive spending backdrop in the U.S. market, we believe Apple has opportunity to shine bright this holiday season. This marks Apple's sixth year in a row where the company has seen a gain in its market valuation. If you were wondering how rival Microsoft is doing this year, its current market valuation stands at $369.7 billion. Microsoft can keep insulting Apple all it wants, but it has some catching up to do.
Apple #88 on Fortune's 100 fastest-growing companies
As big as Apple is -- 98,000 employees worldwide, with 2013 revenues of about US$171 billion -- it's still growing like a much smaller, nimbler company. Fortune's 2014 list of the 100 fastest-growing companies is out, and Apple is in the #88 spot. The ranking is a bit lower than last year's #38, but the company has been on the Fortune list for eight consecutive years, quite an achievement in what many consider to still be a tough economy. What got Apple into the ranking? An earnings per share, three-year annual growth rate of 26 percent, a revenue three-year annual growth rate of 28 percent, and a total return three-year annual rate of 27 percent. The company also beat the Standard & Poor's three-year annual growth rate. With Apple's executives saying that the company has its best product lineup ever in the works for release in the next few months, Apple might make it back into the list next year for a nine-year streak.
Apple announces Q3 2014 earnings results
Apple today announced its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014. Speaking to CNBC, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he "couldn't be happier" with the results, adding that "this is the best execution of any quarter since I've been at Apple." Apple posted quarterly revenue of $37.4 billion and quarterly net profit of $7.7 billion with an EPS of $1.28 per diluted share. Last year's results for the same quarter were $35.3 billion with a net profit of $6.9 billion, or $1.07 per diluted share. Gross margin for the quarter was 39.4 percent, as compared to 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 59 percent of the quarter's revenue. Apple sold 35.2 million iPhones, 13.3 million iPads and 4.4 million Macs in the third quarter of 2014. This represents a 12 percent climb in iPhone sales from the 31.2 million reported in Q3 2013 and a 9.2 percent drop in iPad sales from 14.6 million during the same quarter last year. Mac sales showed the steepest rise, climbing 18 percent from 3.8 million in Q3 2013. This financial report only scratches the surface of Apple's earnings for the quarter. For additional details, please join us at 5 PM ET / 2 PM PT for our liveblog of Apple's Q3 2014 earnings call.
Coming on Tuesday: Apple Q3 Earnings Call
Time flies! Next Tuesday is July 22, and that's the day that we'll hear from Apple executives about how the company did in its third fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2014. As usual, TUAW will liveblog the earnings call beginning at 5 PM ET, and you can listen in on the proceedings via Apple's livestream. With the earnings call just around the corner, Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt polled 26 analysts to see how they thought iPad sales fared in the last quarter. The chart below shows quite a range, from Asymco's Horace Dediu on the bullish end with sales of 16 million tablets and Canaccord Genuity's T. Michael Walkley being the big bear with an estimate of 12.26 million iPads sold. The analysts highlighted in green are independents; those in blue are professional analysts. The consensus estimate is that there will be a slight year over year decrease of about .19 percent in sales since Q3 2013, representing a still-significant 14.43 million units sold. I tend to agree more with Dediu's numbers, so if I were to venture a guess, I'd go with Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty and estimate 15 million sold. That's an increase of 1.7 percent over Q3 2013. What's your estimate on iPad sales? Let us know in the comments. Table by Fortune, Philip Elmer-DeWitt
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for May 9, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for May 8, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Apple stock tops $600 per share for first time in 18 months
Since posting stellar earnings last week, not to mention the announcement of a widely-expanded capital return program, shares of Apple have been on the rise in a major way. During the last three trading days alone, Apple shares have increased by $76.21, which amounts to a rather sizeable 15.6% bump. Notably, Apple shares after the closing bell on Monday crossed the $600 barrier for the first time in approximately 18 months, hitting a 52-week high in the process. Indeed, the last time shares of Apple saw $600 was back in October of 2012. It's hard to pinpoint just what exactly is driving the surge in stock price given that there are a number of variables at play. First and foremost, Apple's revenue last quarter exceeded the consensus on Wall Street by a whopping $2 billion. For a company that analysts seemingly love to peg as a has-been whose products are continually being commoditized, that's an incredible "beat" from Apple. What's more, Apple also announced an expanded capital return program that left investors extremely pleased. In addition to increasing its dividend payout to $3.29 (an 8% bump), Apple also said that it would expand its stock buyback program. And oh yes, Apple, on top of all that, also announced a 7-1 stock split scheduled to go into effect next month. While splitting a stock does nothing to change its fundamental value, it does make the stock "appear" to be a better value, not to mention more affordable for smaller investors. Imagine, for example, a small investor with $1000 to spend. As it stands today, this investor would only be able to afford a single Apple share. With a 7-1 split, however, our friendly investor would be able to purchase 11 shares. Looking ahead, it'll be interesting to see how shares of Apple perform given that Tim Cook has assured the Apple faithful that new product categories are looming. As a final point of interest, note that Apple's all-time high was $702 which the stock reached back in September of 2012.
Over the past two quarters, iPad sales actually increased
Not to beat a dead horse, but when analysts and pundits jump on a quarterly decrease in iPad sales and quickly proclaim that the iPad may have peaked, it's worth pointing out the logical flaws in such determinations. As we've previously explained, looking at iPad sales exclusively through the lens of one stand-alone quarter ignores some much needed context. Taking a slight step back, if we actually look at and compare iPad sales from September-March 2013 to September-March 2014, we see that iPad sales actually increased ever so slightly. The mind-boggling thing is that this data is easily accessible, yet is not often cited by websites that are, for whatever reason, so keen on pushing the "iPad is fading" narrative. As a quick example, look no further than this Business Insider piece titled, "Apple's iPad Business Is Collapsing." Not quite. The reality, and the numbers back this up, is that iPad sales aren't decreasing. There's no imminent collapse. What's really at play here is that during the first quarter of 2013, Apple sold an unusually high number of iPads on account of a severe iPad mini backlog that accumulated during the previous quarter. So when Apple's iPad sales figures came out for the first quarter of 2014, the numbers were naturally lower. But again, if we look at the data with a six month lens, iPad sales actually went up just a tad. Looking ahead, if iPad sales across 2014 come in lower than iPad sales in 2013, then sure, we can talk about how the iPad train has come to a halt. But until then, all of the gloom and doom stories about the vibrancy of the iPad are premature at best, and purposefully misleading and hyperbolic at worst.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for April 23, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Apple Q2 2014 earnings results
The results are in: Apple just announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2014 (ending March 31, 2014) and here are the highlights. Apple posted quarterly revenue of $45.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $10.2 billion. That works out to an EPS of $11.62 per diluted share. Last year's results for the same quarter were $43.6 billion with net profit of $9.5 billion, or $10.09 per diluted share. Gross margin for the quarter was 39.3 percent, up from 37.5 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales were responsible for 66 percent of the quarter's revenue. Apple CEO Tim Cook was quoted as saying "We're very proud of our quarterly results, especially our strong iPhone sales and record revenue from services. We're eagerly looking forward to introducing more new products and services that only Apple could bring to market." Be sure to join us at 5 PM ET / 2 PM PT for our liveblog of the Apple Q2 2014 earnings call. Photo from Getty Images
No TUAW TV today; Join us at 5 PM ET for Apple Q2 2014 earnings call liveblog
Time flies when you're having fun. It seems like it was only yesterday that we were sitting down to report Apple's first quarter results for the 2014 fiscal year. Today at 5 PM ET, TUAW TV Live will be pre-empted for the second quarter earnings call, and we'll be here to report the news for you as it comes in. The festivities usually start around 4:30 PM ET when Apple publishes the quarterly figures. At 5 PM, the call starts, usually with Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer at the helm. I would expect to hear Apple corporate controller Luca Maestri on the call as well; Maestri will be stepping in to replace the retiring Oppenheimer this fall. To view the liveblog, point your browser to this page -- and that's all you need to do. There's no need to refresh your browser, as the liveblog will automatically update with images and commentary. Just sit back with your favorite beverage as the reports of iPhone, iPad and Mac sales figures roll in, and we listen to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster once again try (unsuccessfully) to get the Apple executives to spill the beans about the mythical iTV. You can listen in on the call livestream here. Note that the livestream is usually delayed slightly, so you may see us writing about something prior to hearing it on the call. TUAW TV Live will be back on the air next week at its usual time.
