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Apple’s Year-End Earnings Beat Forecasts But iPhone Sales Numbers Disappoint

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday January 23, 2013 @ 1:44pm PSTTags: Apple, iPhone 5

UPDATE, 3:00 PM: CEO Tim Cook added fuel to the speculation that Apple will come up with a potentially game-changing television. In a call with analysts he said it “remains” a topic of “intense interest for us” adding that “there’s a lot we can contribute in this space.” He declined to provide any details.

PREVIOUS, 1:44 PM: The stock is down more than 8% in after market trading, bringing the price back below $500, as fiscal Q1 results did nothing to ease concerns that Apple‘s starting to lose its marketing pizzazz. Net income at $13.1B was up 1.1% vs the period last year on revenues of $54.5B, +17.7%. The top line figure was just a little short of the $54.7B that analysts expected. Earnings at $13.81 a share topped the consensus of $13.44. The static comes from sales numbers for some of Apple’s top products. The company says that it sold 47.8M iPhones in the quarter, which is up from 37M in the period last year but still shy of predictions of about 49M. Apple also says that it sold 22.9M iPads (vs. 15.4M last year), 4.1M Macs (vs. 5.2M), and 12.7M iPods (vs. 15.4M). “We’re thrilled with record revenue of over $54 billion and sales of over 75 million iOS devices in a single quarter,” CEO Tim Cook says. “We’re very confident in our product pipeline as we continue to focus on innovation and making the best products in the world.” Apple shares are down 26.5% since mid September.

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Amazon Fires On Apple By Offering Music For iPhone And iPod Touch

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday January 17, 2013 @ 9:38am PSTTags: Amazon, Apple, iPhone, iTunes

Apple dominates digital music sales, with nearly 70% of the market, while Amazon is far behind at about 12%, NPD Group reported last year. So it’s easy to see why Amazon is so eager to pry consumers from … Read More »

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UPDATE: Apple Shares Close Below $500

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday January 15, 2013 @ 1:25pm PSTTags: Apple, iPhone 5, Tim Cook

UPDATE, 1:25 PM: Apple ended the day at $485.92, -3.2% — the stock’s lowest closing price since February 8, 2012. The performance stood in contrast to the slight rise in both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor’s 500. Investor concerns about how much and how quickly Apple can grow are sure to weigh on CEO Tim Cook as he prepares to talk with analysts on January 23, when the company releases its earnings for the last three months of 2012. Read More »

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Will Apple Shares Fall Below $500 Today?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday December 17, 2012 @ 8:12am PSTTags: Apple, iPad, iPhone 5

That’s a real possibility, and a potential milestone for a three-month period during which the consumer electronics company has declined more than 28% from its 52-week high of $705. Apple‘s down about 1% in early trading today to $506, the lowest it’s been since February. Investors fear that iPhone 5 sales are short of expectations following reports, including several last week, that Apple has cut orders from its suppliers. That’s one reason Citi just downgraded Apple to “neutral” from “buy,” and cut the price target to $575 from $675. Although the reports from suppliers are “inconclusive,” analyst Glen Yeung says that they “bring into question the strength of iPhone 5 and refocus investors onto risks in the Apple story.” The company tried to reassure the market today, disclosing that it has sold more than 2M iPhone 5s in China in the three days after its December 14 launch there. “iPhone 5 will be available in more than 100 countries by the end of December, making it the fastest iPhone rollout ever,” it says. Read More »

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Apple Begins Charm Offensive Against Critics: Claims Will Start Bringing U.S. Jobs Back

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday December 6, 2012 @ 8:03am PSTTags: Apple, Rock Center With Brian Williams, Tim Cook

Wouldn’t it be swell if the studios and networks felt the same way about their own runaway production? Apple‘s chief Tim Cook took on his Bad Apple critics in interviews this week — one airing tonight on Rock Center With Brian Williams (see the video below) and the other with Bloomberg Businessweek. Now Cook is claiming a line of Apple’s Mac computers will be manufactured in the U.S. in 2013. Certainly the Cupertino company has met with terrible press recently on at least two fronts — those Chinese worker walkouts over allegations of oppressive Foxconn working conditions on the new iPhone 5, and The New York Times exposé about Apple using creative accounting and legal loopholes to deprive U.S. and California government coffers of billions in badly needed corporate tax dollars while the fiscal cliff looms. When Williams asked Cook why Apple isn’t Read More »

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Apple’s 7-Week Stock Price Drop Has Investors Wondering: What’s Next?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday November 14, 2012 @ 7:16am PSTTags: Apple

Here’s a question for people who believe that the stock market is rational: How do you explain what’s happening to Apple? The market value for the iconic electronics company has plummeted about $150B, or 23%, in less than two months as its stock price dropped from a high of more than $705 a share (which it touched on September 21) to yesterday’s closing price of $542.90. There’s wide agreement that this has virtually nothing to do with Apple. You can’t blame such a big drop on the widely reported snafus with Apple’s Maps application, or disappointment that the iPad Mini costs too much and doesn’t have a Retina screen. The stock is dropping because investors had unrealistic expectations. They bet that Apple would continue to hit grand slams, and are belatedly realizing that they may have to settle for a stretch of mere home runs and triples. Read More »

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Apple’s Lawsuit Against Google Dismissed Shortly Before Trial: Reuters

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday November 5, 2012 @ 4:02pm PSTTags: Apple, Google

Wisconsin District Judge Barbara Crabb threw out Apple’s lawsuit against Google’s Motorola Mobility unit over alleged patent abuse shortly before trial was to begin Monday. … Read More »

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Apple Moves 3M iPads Over Weekend, But Doesn’t Break Out iPad Mini Number

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday November 5, 2012 @ 10:26am PSTTags: Apple, iPad, iPad Mini

I suspect that Apple would have said something if it sold 1.5M or more iPad Minis. That was the top of the widely cited target range for sales that Piper Jaffray analyst Gene … Read More »

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Apple’s iPad Mini Goes On Sale Without The Usual Frenzy

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday November 2, 2012 @ 12:43pm PDTTags: Apple, iPad Mini

Apple stores have lines for the 8-inch screen version of its trend-setting iPad. But anecdotal reports indicate that opening weekend sales will fall far short of the pace set by the company’s other recent products. That’s contributed to a … Read More »

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Apple Software Chief Scott Forstall And Retail Head John Browett Exiting Company

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Tuesday October 30, 2012 @ 2:25am PDTTags: Apple, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook

Apple reported disappointing Q4 results last week and shares were down about 9.5% over the last month as investors wondered whether the company can continue to fly high. On Monday, in its biggest management shake-up in … Read More »

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Apple’s Fiscal Q4 Earnings Fail To Reassure Anxious Investors

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday October 25, 2012 @ 1:59pm PDTTags: Apple

Apple‘s stock — which topped $700 in mid-September — briefly dipped under $600 and remained -1% in after-market trading after reporting disappointing results for the most recent quarter. It’s not that the company did badly. Indeed, for anyone else the results would be considered fantastic: Apple reported net income of $8.2B for its fiscal Q4, +24.2% vs the period last year, on revenues of nearly $36B, +27.2%. The revenue figure slightly beat the Street’s expectations for $35.8B. But earnings per share, at $8.67, were below forecasts for $8.75. Apple’s bare-bones announcement says that it sold 26.9M iPhones in the quarter (+58% vs last year) as well as 14.0M iPads (+26%), 4.9M Macs (+1%), and 5.3M iPods (-19%). The company says it expects to generate $52B in revenue next year, with earnings per share of about $11.75. Read More »

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UPDATE: Apple Introduces iPad Mini And A More Powerful iPad

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday October 23, 2012 @ 10:26am PDTTags: Apple, iPad, iPad Mini

Apple iPad Mini AnnoucementUPDATED: Apple‘s new iPad Mini enters the ring against small-sized tablets including Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD. But it doesn’t appear to deliver a knock-out punch. Indeed, the price of Apple shares fell during the roll-out presentation, and are down about 2% in mid-afternoon trading. Apple says the iPad Mini’s 7.9-inch screen compares to the 9.7 inch screen for its larger iPads. The company says the total screen area is 35% larger than the 7-inch screen rivals. But iPad Mini’s screen resolution is 1024 X 768 — which means it’s not as sharp as the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD. The iPad Mini is 7.2 mm thick, about 25% thinner than the latest iPad. It weights 0.68 pounds. All of the software for the iPad will work on the Mini, unchanged. The iPad Mini has an A5 processor, FaceTime HD camera in front and 5MP iSight camera in back. Beginning November 2, models with 16 GB of storage and communicate via WiFi will sell for $329 (a higher price than the Google and Amazon competitors) with 32GB versions for $429 and 64 GB $529. Two weeks later, iPad Minis with 4G cellular communications will go for $459, $559 and $659.

Meanwhile Apple may infuriate consumers who bought the new iPad introduced in March: The company just announced a fourth-generation model with a more powerful processor and the new Lightning connector. Price starts at $499 with 16GB of storage. Read More »

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Will Apple Unveil The iPad Mini On Tuesday?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday October 17, 2012 @ 8:37am PDTTags: Apple, iPad

Sure looks that way based on the company’s press invitation to an October 23 meeting at San Jose’s California Theater. Per usual, Apple‘s keeping everything secret. But the note says that “We’ve got a little more to show you.” … Read More »

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Have iPhone 5 Assembly Lines In China Been Hit By A Strike?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Saturday October 6, 2012 @ 11:59am PDTTags: Apple, iPhone 5

We see conflicting reports today out of China. Rights group China Labor Watch says that “multiple iPhone 5 production lines from various factory buildings were in a state of paralysis for the entire day” yesterday after as many as 4,000 production workers at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory went on strike. Employees objected to the company’s requirement that  they work on the country’s National Day holiday that runs from October 1 to October 8, and its failure to train them to produce phones that meet its standards, the group reports. Workers also said that design defects make it difficult to fulfill requirements that phones have no scratches on frames and back covers, and no indentation of more than 0.02 mm. That led to fights between production workers and quality control inspectors., “This strike is a result of the fact that these workers just have too much pressure,” says CLW Executive Director Li Qiang. Read More »

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Sorry Apple, But TV Producers Are Profitable Enough Without You: Analyst

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday October 3, 2012 @ 12:06pm PDTTags: Apple, Big Media, Syndication

I’m traveling this week, and just caught up with the excellent report out yesterday from Barclays Equity Research’s Anthony DiClemente about the boom in TV syndication – and the implications for companies including Apple that want to bust the pay TV oligopoly. He observes that “monetization opportunities for TV programming have never been greater.” Studios collectively generate about $20B a year now — up from $10B in 2002 — selling shows to TV stations, cable networks, VOD, online subscription services such as Netflix, overseas outlets, and via home video including DVDs. What’s more, the business provides Big Media companies with a higher return on invested capital — the most crucial metric for shareholders — than most other lines: For example, CBS makes a 14% return from its TV studio vs 12% for the entire company while News Corp sees a return of 10% (vs 7% for the company overall) and Time Warner generates 9% (vs. 7%). Read More »

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Apple Apologizes For Flawed Maps App

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday September 28, 2012 @ 6:33am PDTTags: Apple, iPhone 5, Tim Cook

This had to hurt. Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged this morning that his company’s Maps product — which replaced Google Maps in the new iPhone 5 and iOS 6 operating system — “fell short” of his company’s standards. “We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better,” he said in a public letter. Cook’s mea culpa follows widespread reports across the Internet from people who became lost after relying on the Apple app for travel directions. For example, New York Times writer David Pogue wrote this week that he used his iPhone to reach a speaking engagement, but “When the app told me that I had arrived, I was sitting in a random suburban cul-de-sac.” Cook says that “The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get.” But he added that, in the meantime, they can download map apps from competitors including Bing, MapQuest, Waze, Google, and Nokia.

Related: Will Apple Be Able To Keep Up With Demand For iPhone 5? Read More »

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Will Apple Be Able To Keep Up With Demand For Its iPhone 5?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday September 24, 2012 @ 9:57am PDTTags: Apple, iPhone 5, Tim Cook

That has to be a real concern for the company today: Apple sold 5M units in the smartphone’s opening weekend in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the UK, it said today. That means demand for iPhone 5 already exceeds the supply. Some people who pre-ordered will have to wait until next month to receive them, Apple says. And production could slow after the phone’s manufacturer, Foxconn Technology Group, shut a factory today in China following fights that Bloomberg says involved as many as 2,000 workers with 40 people hospitalized. A Foxconn spokesman wouldn’t say whether the plant makes iPhone 5 parts. Meanwhile iPhone 5-mania is just beginning: The new smartphone will be offered in 22 additional countries beginning Friday, and will sell in more than 100 countries by year-end. Apple CEO Tim Cook says this morning that although “we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date. We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough iPhone 5s for everyone.” Read More »

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Apple Seeks $535M More From Samsung

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday September 22, 2012 @ 2:49pm PDTTags: Apple, iPhone 5, Samsung

Apple has asked a judge for an additional $535 million in its U.S. patent fight with Samsung Electronics Co. A jury last month awarded Apple $1.05 billion in ruling that Samsung had willfully violated 5 of 7 … Read More »

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Disney CFO Says Ads Are Coming To ESPN Streams To Apple Devices

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday September 20, 2012 @ 12:57pm PDTTags: Advertising, Apple, ESPN, iPad, iPhone

Video programmers have been eagerly waiting for technicians to figure out how to present their ads to millions of iPad and iPhone users. And they’ve finally done it. “In the near future, by the end of this month, you will … Read More »

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