Hi everyone, welcome to the Apple earnings announcement live-blog.
Hello Everyone! Welcome to our live blog of Apple's earnings announcement. I'm one of The Globe's technology reporters.
Hey Ali, Analysts are expecting about $37.2-billion (US) in sales. And an adjusted earnings per share of about $10.37.
Apple has a habit of not making product announcements during earnings calls. Usually, they'll save something like the new iPhone launch for a dedicated media event
Steven, The call is at 5pm -- and the earnings release usually comes out between 4:15 and 4:30pm
As Omar notes, Apple doesn't usually announce or release products in press releases or during earnings calls. So we're unlikely to get any details on iPhone 5 or "Apple TV". It should be said that most analysts are forecasting a new iPhone will probably be pushed out in October, with one analyst saying it could be released as early as mid-September.
The consensus estimates from Bloomberg for roughly $37-billion, though still astronomical, would be slightly down from the $39-billion they had in the second quarter. That's an earnings problem a lot of companies are probably wishing for.
An iPhone 5 launch in September or October would make sense, given that it would set the company up to capitalize on holiday shopping. And now that Samsung has already released its high-end phone and RIM has delayed its new devices to next year, there's fewer competitors to worry about in the fall (with the exception of Microsoft's new Windows 8 devices).
I'm pretty sure that Apple is distinct enough from the broader market now that anything they do won't have a follow-through effect on the broader markets. Some economists even factor Apple out of their macro analysis because the company's huge success distorts the broader stock market.
Omar, Thoughts on the kind-of-simmering, kind of epic Samsung vs. Apple battle -- in terms of market share, earnings, court cases?
Abby, The estimates I have in front of me from Bloomberg suggest 4Q adjusted EPS of $10.26 (with revs of $38B)
That is true, IBM did help the market. And Google did great, as well. And even though Microsoft went through their first loss ever, the sentiment around the company's earnings was pretty optimistic given the new products coming out in the next few months (new Office, new Windows, new Windows Phone, Surface, etc.)
That's a great point, actually. The idea that Apple could disappoint is not something our 24-hour news cycle (and broader Apple lionizing) could digest easily.
I don't have that info at my fingertips. Anyone out there at a terminal want to take a shot at it?
Colin, can you ask WYSIWYG2's question to Siri?
Also of note, some are saying iPhone demand could be decelerating ahead of a new iPhone (which has happened before with handset makers, obviously), here's a bit of colour from a Credit Suisse report by Kulbinder Garcha and colleagues:
"We recently reduced our iPhone estimates to reflect increased carrier discipline on smartphone subsidies in the US. Our iPhone volume estimate for F3Q12 stands at 28.5mn units (-19% qoq/+40% yoy) and we see the potential for slight upside in the quarter. However, given low smartphone penetration, carriers’ inability to ‘collude’ for a sustained period of time, and the roll out of LTE/4G technology, we believe that these pressures on iPhone volumes may be a short term phenomenon. We forecast 26.5mn units (-7% qoq/+55% yoy) in F4Q12 followed by a stronger than seasonal 50.3mn units (+90% qoq/+36% yoy) in F1Q13 (calendar Q4) buoyed by the iPhone 5 launch which we expect in late September/early October."
Piped in via Twitter: "Apple Q3 revenue $35b, net profit $8.8b, sold 26m iPhones"
It's a miss. Stock starting to tank after hours
Stock's down about 5 % already.
I want to hear your instant analysis of what you think this means!
Apple’s Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $2.65 per share
Here we go, about to paste in some raw data, folks:
"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.
