Q3-2012
Latest
ARM posts healthy Q3 profits: up 22 percent thanks to smart TVs and other growing markets
British chip designer ARM has just revealed its accounts for Q3 2012 and they show a familiar pattern: namely, a double-digit rise in both revenue (up 20 percent to £144.6 million, or around $230 million) and pre-tax earnings (up 22 percent to £68.1 million). According to Reuters, the company is attributing its latest bout of success to making "further inroads" into growing markets like smart TVs and microcontrollers. Of course, all of this is stands in stark contrast to the traditional x86 PC world, where giants like Intel and AMD have been struggling with weak demand.
AMD reports $1.27 billion in revenue for Q3 2012
While AMD wrestled to get back on the good foot last quarter, the Sunnyvale chip maker continued to struggle for the third three month financial period of 2012. While reporting $1.27 billion in revenue, the company still saw a ten percent sequential decrease and a 25 percent decrease year-over-year. The hurt not ending there, AMD's graphics division saw a revenue decrease of seven percent sequentially and 15 percent year-over-year. "The PC industry is going through a period of very significant change that is impacting both the ecosystem and AMD," said Rory Read, AMD president and CEO. Such words mirror that of longtime rival Intel, which also continues to struggle with a very unfriendly PC market. In an effort to rebound, AMD announced a restructuring plan to reduce operating expenses that will hopefully give the company more leeway to develop and produce new products and strategies.
Google's Q3 2012 earnings: $14.10 billion in revenue, $2.74 billion in operating income
In an apparent error, Google's Q3 2012 earnings have gone live smack dab in the middle of the trading day, instead of after the closing bell as expected. Early indications are that the search giant has notched third quarter revenues of $14.10 billion, representing a 45 percent uptick compared to Q3 2011. GAAP operating income in the third quarter of 2012 was $2.74 billion, or 19 percent of revenues, and that would explain the near 10 percent slide in the company's stock price. A year ago Google nailed down $3.06 billion, or 31 percent of revenues, when looking at operating profit; investors were expecting some $10.65 per share, while they got just $9.03 per share. When looking at net income, Q3 2012 saw that figure at $2.18 billion, whereas the company raked in $2.73 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Presently, trading has been halted on the company's stock as the dust settles, but one thing is exceptionally clear: pulling in billions in a single quarter won't go over well with Wall Street if its expectations see you pulling in even more.
Verizon reports Q3 wireless service revenues up 7.5 percent, LTE now available to 250 million people
The folks at Verizon are revelling in their third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, having reported a 14.3 percent overall increase in earnings per share year-over-year. Wireless service revenues -- not least from us smartphone users -- contributed heavily to that income, growing 7.5 percent compared to the same quarter in 2011 off the back of a "record high" profit margin. The operator attributes these gains to its "4G LTE network advantage," with its LTE service now available to 250 million customers and potential customers across the US, as well as to its "well-received Share Everything Plans and unmatched product portfolio." It added 1.5 million postpaid connections, bringing its total wireless membership to just shy of 96 million souls.
Gartner and IDC: PC shipments tumbled over 8 percent in Q3, only ASUS and Lenovo escaped unhurt
We don't often summarize market share in one word, but: ouch. Both Gartner and IDC have trotted out their preliminary estimates for PC market share in the third quarter, and the two agree that this summer was a dire one for the traditional computer. Outside of ASUS and Lenovo, whose price-focused strategies and key acquisitions kept them ahead of rivals, virtually every major vendor saw its PC shipments collapse versus a year ago, often by more than 10 percent. Total worldwide shipments declined by more than 8 percent in either estimate -- enough to make a flat second quarter seem rosy by comparison. Lenovo took the top spot in Gartner's study, although IDC is counting workstations and kept HP in its usual lead. As for the US, it's almost better that we don't look. Gartner and IDC believe that the American market sank by respective 13.8 or 12.4 percent amounts, and the steep global declines repeated themselves in the one country for everyone but Lenovo. Even a market share gain for Apple came only because its shipments dropped at a gentler rate than most of its peers. Whether it's the US or worldwide, don't assume that inventory clearances ahead of Windows 8 were the only factors at work, though. Both research teams point to continuing world economic troubles as influences, and IDC contends that buyers are still skipping PCs in favor of smartphones and mobile tablets. There's often a jump in computer sales between the summer and the fall, especially with a new OS on the way, but we wouldn't count on a return to the halcyon days.
Samsung expects around $7.28 billion in operating profits for Q3, setting another record
Samsung has provided investors guidance ahead of its full Q3 earnings report that's due before October 26th, and as has been the custom, the numbers are huge. It's expecting a fourth straight record quarter with overall operating profit of 8.1 trillion won ($7.28 billion), an amount that would more than double last year's results for the same period and clear Q2s $5.86 billion, all on sales of 52 trillion won ($46 billion). We'll have to wait for the full report to see numbers broken down by department, but it's safe to say that there's a lot of Galaxy S IIIs (it ticked past 20 million last month) adding up to reach that pinnacle. Reuters and Bloomberg have predictions from various analysts on how many handsets, RAM chips and flat-panel HDTVs were sold, but if its legal battle with Apple ends in the worst-case scenario, at least we figure Samsung will have enough left over to keep the lights on.
Tokyo Jungle finds a nest in North America September 25
Sony only kind of announced Tokyo Jungle for North America at E3, but now we have an official release date for the animal survival adventure: September 25. The price is $14.99, which is much, much cheaper than the ¥3,900 ($49) asking price in Japan.In case you missed our coverage, Tokyo Jungle is an oddly fascinating game in which you control one of 50 different animals – ranging from a chick to a dinosaur – trying to survive, find food, and mate in a ruined, post-apocalyptic Tokyo. A story mode takes you through the lives of a set of animals "whose lives are intertwined as they struggle to survive in the Tokyo wilderness, while unraveling the mystery of mankind's disappearance." In Survival Mode, you stay alive for as many generations as you can, hunting (or foraging), claiming territory, and avoiding larger predators.
Joe Danger 2: The Movie flipping to XBLA 'probably in the next month or so'
Joe Danger 2: The Movie from UK dev Hello Games is leaping to your Xbox 360 in the not-too-distant future. "We're pretty much complete," Hello Games head Sean Murray told us at Gamescom during a demo of the upcoming 2D Xbox Live Arcade racer. "We're showing the full game here, and hopefully people like it. Hopefully that means we're nearly finished," he said with a smile.Thankfully for fans excited for the new game, reception at Gamescom was very positive. "It's been good, so the game is actually probably gonna come out in the next month or so. Something like that," Murray said. There's only one thing standing between Joe Danger 2: The Movie and launch – certification. "That's where we're heading into now. We're doing the final, 'We shouldn't be changing anything, but we are.' Don't tell our QA!" And what about PlayStation 3 or PC versions? "At the moment, we're just showing and talking about 360. We kind of haven't made any other announcements or anything like that," Murray said. But? "But obviously the original came out on PS3 and 360, so ...," he trailed off. Take that as you will!You'll also be glad to hear that the game is a load of fun – expect a full writeup from Gamescom 2012 later today.
Indie shooter 'Gunblitz' blasts Ouya in March, PC in September
Will the new Ouya game console have at least one shmup? Oh, yeah. Indiana-based developer Rapture Game Studios plans to put its first game, the horizontal scrolling shooter Gunblitz, on the diminutive Android console in March.Before that console is finally Kickstarted into existence, Rapture plans to put Gunblitz on regular-sized PCs in September. Rapture has already released a demo of this PC version – thereby anticipating the pseudo-free-to-play model of the Ouya, and letting you try the game out.
Visualized: the iDevice influence on Apple's bottom line
Apple's Q3 earnings last week rang loud and clear: iDevices are paying Cupertino's bills. The customary numerics laid down the bare facts, citing an 84 percent increase in iPad sales since 2011 and a similar 28 percent jump for the iPhone. Of course, well-organized tables of sales data aren't for everyone, but who doesn't love a good chart? Stuart Carlton took it upon himself to graph the percentages of Apple's revenue that each of its product categories fill out, producing the above criss-cross of colored statistics. The graph compares Apple's Q3 sales data going back several years, and a second chart (after the break) compares the iPhone, iPad and iPod's share of the revenue directly with the rest of Apple's fare. Read on to take in the data for yourself, or hit the source link below for Carlton's own commentary.
Grand Theft Auto 3 coming to PSN next Tuesday, no word on Vice City just yet
When ESRB ratings for Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City on PlayStation 3 sprang up earlier this year, it seemed assured that the games were headed to PSN's PS2 classics section. Indeed, Grand Theft Auto 3 is joining the no-frills lineup next Tuesday for $10.The news was revealed on the latest PlayStation podcast among other PSN releases for next week. Like all PS2 classics, GTA3 isn't getting an HD update or Trophy support. Also, that Vice City ESRB listing hasn't panned out just yet, but we're sure it's on the way.
Gran Turismo 5 'Academy Edition' racing to stores on September 26
This fall marks two years since Polyphony Digital's latest Gran Turismo screeched onto retailer shelves, and four years since the company partnered with Nissan on its GT Academy. As a result, the developer's celebrating with a special edition release of Gran Turismo 5 – "Academy Edition" – replete with the various car packs released since the launch in 2010.More specifically, you'll also get Polyphony Digital creative lead Kazunori Yamauchi's fancy Nissan GTR that he raced in real life during the most recent Nurburgring 24-hour race. If you bought it in real life, it'd cost like a trillion dollars, so this is probably the best way to get access.When the "Academy Edition" of Gran Turismo 5 launches this September 26, it'll cost €29.99/£19.99. The game doesn't have a price or launch date in the US just yet, but we expect to hear more on that front in the coming days.
Apple's Q3 hardware sales by the numbers: 17 million iPads, 26 million iPhones, 4 million Macs
Apple's out with its third quarter financials today and, as is customary, it's provided some sales figures for all of its big hardware categories. Those are headlined by record sales of the iPad, which jumped a whopping 84 percent year-over-year and 44 percent from the previous quarter to 17 million units sold during Q3 (no word on a breakdown by iPad model, though). iPhone sales were also up year-over-year to 26 million units, although that represents a more modest year-over-year growth of "just" 28 percent (and a drop from 30 million in Q2), no doubt due in part to folks holding off on a purchase until the next model comes out. A bit more surprising are the company's Mac sales numbers which, despite a new slate of MacBooks, saw year-over-year growth of only two percent for sales of an even four million in the quarter -- compared to growth of seven percent in Q2. That seems to be explained at least in part by a dip in desktop sales, which were down 13 percent year-over-year while laptops were up 8 percent, resulting in some fairly flat growth overall. Lastly, as has been the trend for some time now, the company's venerable iPod line is the one area that continues to see a consistent decline as phones and tablets take over, with it dropping ten percent year-over-year to sales of 6.8 million for the quarter. As Apple noted on its earnings call, though, those iPod numbers were actually better than it expected, and the iPod touch continues to be the most popular device in the category far, accounting for more than half of all iPod sales. Update: Apple didn't divulge any Apple TV sales figures in its earnings report, but Tim Cook was happy to provide them on the earnings call. The company sold 1.3 million Apple TV units during Q3, up an impressive 170 percent year-over-year. Still officially a "hobby," apparently, but not one that Tim Cook says he'd be pursuing if the company didn't believe in it.
Apple announces Q3 2012 earnings: $35 billion revenue, $8.8 billion in net profits
It's hard to believe its been just three months since we were here last, but it's true. It's already earnings season again and, in the feast of financial conference calls, Apple is an entree. Not surprisingly, Cupertino was raking in the big bucks yet again, but it wasn't quite the windfall of revenue the company has seen in the past. All told the company pulled in $35 billion in revenue, pocketing $8.8 billion of that as pure profit, a record for both in Q3. But, just cause it wasn't quite as lucrative a quarter doesn't mean the boys in Cupertino aren't happy with the results. Profits were up $1.5 billion from Q3 of 2011, allowing the company to carry forward with its plan to issue a cash dividend to its share holders. During the last three months the company shipped 17 million iPads, an 84 percent increase over the same quarter last year -- a simply staggering number. And don't think that its other premier gadget has plateaued. 26 million iPhones were also sold, representing a 28 percent increase year-over-year. Interestingly, Mac sales slowed, increasing just two percent over last year, largely thanks to a 13 percent drop off in desktop sales. The biggest money maker for the company continues to be the iPhone and its related products and services, however. More than $16 billion of the total revenue is directly attributable to the smaller member of the iOS family. The iPad is quickly closing the gap, netting Apple over $9 billion in this quarter alone. As a percentage of revenue, the iPod continued to decline, marking the slow death of the once flagship product line. While revenues were down sequentially, it's the year-over-year numbers that tell the real story. Revenue was up $9.5 billion from Q3 of 2011 and net income by $1.5 billion, as the company has continued to increase its market share and open up to niches to itself. For the next quarter Apple actually expects a small drop in both revenue and earnings per-share, but not enough that we expect Wall Street types to start yelling, "sell, sell, sell!"
Apple 3Q 2012 earnings reported: Another strong quarter
Apple has announced its third quarter 2012 earnings, and the numbers are once again spectacular -- although while the company beat its own guidance, Wall Street analysts are disappointed that the numbers did not meet their predictions. The company posted quarterly revenues of $35 billion, up from $28.6 billion a year ago. Net profit was $8.8 billion or $9.32 per diluted share, up from $7.3 billion last year or $7.79 per diluted share. Apple sold 26.0 million iPhones, which indicates 28 percent growth over the year-ago quarter. The big surprise was that the company sold 17.0 million iPads during the quarter, up 84 percent over the previous year. 4 million Macs were sold, representing a 2 percent increase over last year's quarter. The full press release can be found below. Show full PR text Apple Reports Third Quarter Results 17 Million iPads Sold Board Declares Quarterly Dividend of $2.65 per Common Share CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 third quarter ended June 30, 2012. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $35.0 billion and quarterly net profit of $8.8 billion, or $9.32 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $28.6 billion and net profit of $7.3 billion, or $7.79 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 42.8 percent compared to 41.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter's revenue. "We're continuing to invest in the growth of our business and are pleased to be declaring a dividend of $2.65 per share today" The Company sold 26.0 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 28 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 17.0 million iPads during the quarter, an 84 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4.0 million Macs during the quarter, a two percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 6.8 million iPods, a 10 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. Apple's Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $2.65 per share of the Company's common stock. The dividend is payable on August 16, 2012, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 13, 2012. "We're thrilled with record sales of 17 million iPads in the June quarter," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We've also just updated the entire MacBook line, will release Mountain Lion tomorrow and will be launching iOS 6 this Fall. We are also really looking forward to the amazing new products we've got in the pipeline." "We're continuing to invest in the growth of our business and are pleased to be declaring a dividend of $2.65 per share today," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the fourth fiscal quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $7.65." Apple will provide live streaming of its Q3 2012 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT on July 24, 2012 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq312. 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 diluted 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 24, 2011, its Forms 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, and its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 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 is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad. NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple's PR website (www.apple.com/pr), or call Apple's Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042. © 2012 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Torchlight 2 devs still planning summer launch
Runic Games' Torchlight 2 is still planned for launch at some point this summer, Runic president Travis Baldree tells us. "The end of summer is September 25th or something like that, right?" he asked. "We're still trying to get it done for summer. It's a big game and we've still got some polish to go."A recent blog post from Baldree on his company's site was meant to allay the concerns of fans who pre-ordered the game many months ago – fans who have yet to get a solid release date from Runic. "People asked us to make pre-orders available. So, people were just interested in what was going on. There was some concern in the forums that we had gone off and were just twiddling our thumbs," he said. "We have a point in development where we'll say, 'Okay, we're ready to announce a date,' but we're just not there yet."As of today, that gives Runic approximately two months to announce a release date and, uh, actually release its game. Fingers crossed!
Qualcomm Q3 2012 earnings show revenue ($4.63b) and profit ($1.21b) up sharply over last year
Qualcomm is reporting its financial numbers for the last quarter and has been the trend, it's a good time to be everywhere in the wireless business. Continued strong demand for 3G and 4G-connected hardware is keeping sales high, driving "strong year-over-year growth" according to CEO Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, contributing to a bottom line of $4.63 billion in revenue and net income of $1.21 billion. The company's MSM (mobile station modem) chipsets continue to be the main contributor with 141 million units sold, also up yearly by 18 percent but down 7 percent from Q2, with reported device sales following the same pattern at $47.8 billion. About that slight drop from last quarter, the Doctor continues by saying the company expects demand to be back-loaded as "new devices" are launched for the holiday season. With that in mind, it's ramping up production for 28nm Snapdragon S4 chipsets, a move that reportedly has required help from Samsung and UMC. With the next iPhone, new Android Jelly Bean hardware, Windows Phone 8 / Windows 8 devices and much more expected to arrive soon, we'll keep the old money-flying-at-Qualcomm's-HQ graphic close by. For more details, hit the source link for the PDF or read the press release after the break.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD gleaming the cube on PC as well
Above, you see Tony Hawk grinding down a pipe. Nothing out of the ordinary there. In actuality, though, it's Tony Hawk grinding down a pipe on a PC in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD. You'll excuse us if we've totally blown your mind.Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD is heading to PC, though Robomodo isn't offering a date just yet – it will arrive "later this summer." Expect to see it a few weeks after it hits Xbox Live Arcade this July.In honor of today's news, Activision released two new trailers and a batch of screens, below and beyond the break.%Gallery-160221%
The Walking Dead's third episode due 'middle of August,' Telltale says
Despite some launch setbacks with its last Walking Dead episode, Telltale Games wants to reassure fans that the third episode in the series – "Long Road Ahead" – launches in "the middle of August." The company's blog announced as much in an apologetic letter, where a company rep said, "Although we can't give you an exact date at this time, we can say that episode three will be ready in the middle of August, and that we and our partners will do all we can to release all platforms and regions as close together as possible."The Walking Dead's episodic series received critical praise and commercial success since the first episode launched earlier this year. The game's third episode is set for launch this August, with two more planned episodes launching in subsequent months.
Apple Q3 earnings call on July 24 -- will Mountain Lion follow on July 25?
Apple has announced that the Q3 earnings call (April - June, 2012) will be held on July 24. This is important for two reasons: first, the world will get to hear how well the company did over the past three months and second, last year Apple released Lion the day after the Q3 earnings call. While the company can pretty well call the shots on when it releases the next version of Mac OS X, if Apple follows last year's lead, we might see Mountain Lion in general release on July 25. This, of course, meets the "end of July" deadline for the release of the latest cat. As always, TUAW will hold a metaliveblog during the event for commentary and analysis.
