Apple trounces Wall Street estimates

[onehandle]

Source: CNN

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Shares of Apple Inc. jumped 9% in after-hours trading Wednesday, after the computer and electronics maker said its fiscal first-quarter earnings soundly beat analysts' estimates despite a difficult environment for tech sales.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company reported net income rose almost 2% to $1.61 billion, or $1.78 per share, in the three months ended Dec. 27, compared with $1.58 billion, or $1.76 per share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 6% to $10.17 billion from $9.61 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings per share of $1.39 and sales of $9.74 billion, according to consensus estimates gathered by Thomson Reuters.

"Even in these economically challenging times, we are incredibly pleased to report our best quarterly revenue and earnings in Apple history," Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs said in a statement.

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/21/technology/Apple_earns/index.htm

---

At least one company is doing well. No surprise here.

Apple has had more cash on hand than Microsoft for a while now.

[PBS Poll-435]

1. Wow, and Intel's Otellini is speculating about a possible loss in 1Q09

:scared:

[kristopher]

2. I'll tell my wife

We did our part with two new laptops for the twins in college. I told her it was painful, but necessary for the economy...

[Atman]

11. Our son's school "included" a MacBook Pro with tuition.

I couldn't bear to ask what the actual markup was. But our son was happy.

.

[KittyWampus]

30. may I ask what school? It's understandable if you'd prefer not to say.

thanks

[Atman]

41. Full Sail University in Orlando

21-month accelerated bachelors degree program.

.

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. There have been layoff rumors about Microsoft for weeks now.

So far nothing has happened.

[Atman]

4. Apple will be out of business in few months.

Oh, sorry...that's just what all of my non-Apple-using friends have been telling me since 1987 or so.

.

[Fearless]

5. Nonsense, they'll just gouge consumers who think it's hip and trendy.

:eyes:

[Catch22Dem]

7. Gouging?

Gouging is when you overcharge for something the consumer can't get anywhere else. There are plenty of MP3 players out there and consumers are free to choose those inferior products for a lesser price, but if you want an iPod, you're going to pay more. That's just capitalism. Same goes for their computer products.

[Fearless]

9. "Just capitalism" ...Where have I heard that before... Oh right... its a rethug meme.

Actually price gouging is one of two things... either a. charging more than an object is worth because you can. or b. charging more than normal for an object because of conditional shortage (like a hurricane).

[Jakes Progress]

15. No, no. no.

When someone sells something you want but can't afford you call it gouging. When you sell something for a fair price -- that's capitalism.

If you are selling your house and someone wants to give your twice what the house next door is selling for, you turn them down and sell it to them for half. Right? Sure you do.

Stop whining and just learn to get by with what you can afford.

[Fearless]

16. FTR I could afford it.

I don't however because a company exploits the market through the use of well-placed advertisements to tell children that they need these things. They don't. Period. Further, they then jack up the price, well higher than an honest profit dictates because they can. They are no different than any other company that finds a way to exploit capitalism for their own benefit. They are crooks and nothing else. So stop whining and go play with your iPod.

[Lorien]

19. Bitter much?

[SpiralHawk]

22. Bitter and envious, apparently

Dude is banging his head against the wall that he didn't have the savvy to get a MAC.

Cuing the violins for a Major Pity Party...

[Fearless]

39. Such elitism! Wow, I haven't seen this much smug since the Reagan Administration.

[Jakes Progress]

55. Let's take up a collection and buy this guy a Mac.

It's eating him up inside.

[dionysus]

27. sounds like someone linux box has been acting up...

:rofl::rofl:

[Jakes Progress]

34. Too, too easy.

You say "I don't however because a company exploits the market through the use of well-placed advertisements to tell children that they need these things."

I guess you are sending these messages on a 'puter from the library. You didn't actually buy one of these things, did you. Oh, I won't wait for a reply, because I know you are using the bus to get around town, what with all those ads trying to sell cars. And because of all those nasty ads telling you to buy deodorant and soap and shampoo, I suppose you eschew those items also.

The only whining I hear here is yours. I'm not whining. I'm having a good time on my mac. You can have a good time on whatever machine you like, but you don't seem able to enjoy your technology without unreasoning rants against a box of parts that have a different brand than yours. Need cheese with your whine?

[Fearless]

38. Thanks for the flamefest. You're clearly whining.

[Atman]

42. Seek professional help, man

Good god. Are you for real?

.

[Jakes Progress]

44. And they claim that mac fans are obsessed.

I work with all both systems and linux. The group that is the most obsessed with macs are the detractors. Most of us just use the equipment we prefer (or that work requires) but there is a network of manic obsessors who can't stand that anyone actually uses a mac. Their rants usually insist that we are the crazed. It's really funny watching them foam at the mouth and bleed at the keyboard whenever macs or jobs are discussed. You would feel sorry for them if they weren't so obnoxious.

[Fearless]

45. Did I say that?

[Atman]

46. Yeah, pretty much

Repeatedly.

You have a problem with Macs, obviously. Or, more likely, you have a problem with anything that you deem "trendy." Some people are just contrarians. If it's popular, they will hate it just because of it's popularity. Embrace your contrarianism. The rest of us really could give a shit what you think.

.

[Fearless]

50. No, you're reading into my remarks what you will.

What I said was that they're overpriced. Which they are as compared to pcs of equal power. That's all. If you could quote me on something I said to that effect I would be glad to clarify.

[Jakes Progress]

57. Just like a ford pickup

is better than a lotus elan. Has more horsepower and costs less. Real simple.

And my mother's old brownie is cheaper and takes bigger negatives than a Nikon. So it's better right?

[toopers]

53. the funniest thing about Macs vs PCs is the movies . . .

while PCs have almost 90% of the office/industrial market, every movie with an office scene shows a MAC. I have never understood that. There is no way that Apple is buying all that product placement in movies. There has to be some internal Hollywood thing against Microsoft.

[Jakes Progress]

56. No, really.

He has some good reasons why you shouldn't buy a mac. Let's see. They cost more than other computers. Uh... let's see. Oh yeah, They advertise. Those evil bastards.

(Plus he is too cool.)

[TommyO]

32. The worth of something is determined by the buyer

If people didn't like a Mac, or an iPod, or an iPhone, they wouldn't buy them. Apparently people think they're worth the price (which really isn't all that out of line with the rest of the industry).

[Atman]

47. As I pointed out in one of my other posts, the Apples are actually CHEAPER than most

iPods and iPhones are not at all expensive when compared to other brands. When my LG phone died, I looked to replace it with an iPhone. The iPhone was WAY CHEAPER than virtually every other phone with comparable features. The caveat? You have to pay full price, it's not subsidized by the phone company like every other phone is. Even then, the subsidized price of most comparable phones (which, face it, there really are none) was at least as much, and often more, than the iPhone. People just tend to glom onto popular mythology in formulating their opinions.

[Atman]

10. True story...my LG/AT&T phone died in December...(Apple haters are stupid morans).

We don't have land lines. My wife and I were in Florida for a family function when my LG phone fell into someone's drink (hey, it was a good wedding). We HAD TO replace the phone. We have no land line...the number is on my business card, etc.

I looked at it as an opportunity...I could finally get an iPhone. You know, that insanely expensive trendy device that costs a brazillion dollars and is only used by leather-clad trendy hipster types who only love the brand but don't care about the tech? You know...them.

Funny thing is, to buy an iPhone at full retail price would have cost me $200 or $300. Wow. Sounds expensive, right?

Erickson and Blackberry and a dozen other brands I can't remember, had similar phones for $500-600. And more. But I NEVER see any threads about them on DU. Why is that?

My wife wouldn't let me get the iPhone a week before Christmas. It turns out she had already special-ordered an engraved iPod Touch for me for Christmas. (The iPod touch is an iPhone without the phone).

So...why don't you Apple haters post about the $600 phones from other vendors? What's your fucking problem? Why is it cool when other vendors sell expensive phones, but heresy when Apple sells 'em with twice the features for half the price?

[Fearless]

12. Tear, tear...

:cry:

And so on. :sarcasm:

You sure like to dish it out, but you sure can't take it.

:nopity:

:nopity:

:nopity:

:nopity:

[Atman]

25. What the hell are you talking about?

What didn't I "take," and what am I "dishing out?" Did you just learn about emoticons or something? Jeebus. Lighten the f*ck up, man.

.

[alfredo]

17. Get Vonage and a plug in mic so you can make calls at hot spots.

[Lorien]

20. How do you like the iPod touch?

My dad and his girlfriend just bought one. His girlfriend doesn't own a computer and she thought it would be a good way to still have access to email and the internet-plus she wanted a good MP3 player. I love my iPhone. I wish I had had it years ago because it really helps keep me organized, saves me money with all the price comparison apps, saves me gas with the list and recipe apps (when grocery shopping),and it keeps me from getting lost in new cities!

[Atman]

24. I love the iPod Touch

I still baby it a bit, though. My old 4th gen iPod was a tank, I took it everywhere -- including snowboarding. But the Touch seems almost fragile. I'm not crazy about that big glass screen in my pocket. But it IS way cool. The wifi is awesome. I have the snow reports for all the Vermont mountains at my fingertips. And I've dl'd some pretty fun games, something I didn't think I'd get into. In fact, it seems that playing music is the think I use it for least! (My old one was 30gb, the touch is only 16gb, so I had to pare down my playlist).

.

[yodermon]

28. Anecdotal, but I've heard they are fragile.

One drop from less-than-tabletop and it cracks.

[nichomachus]

36. Same thing happens to a lot of things

Moral of the story: Don't freaking drop it.

Sheesh.

[Atman]

43. My old iPod got dropped on pavement, dropped in snow, deep frozen...

...it never died. I was feeling slighted; everyone else was on their fourth iPod, I still had my first one, and it wouldn't die. Some of you will laugh. It not that I wanted it to die. Except for that I did! I had no real reason to get a new one if my old one worked fine. I snowboarded with it, fell on it with my full body weight many times, and it never died. Finally, maybe four-five months ago, the hard drive started clicking...then, as these things tend to go, it refused to boot up. Not a dead battery...the dreaded "This device is seriously fucked up...go to apple.com for information" message. It never ran again.

But this new one...I'm holding a whole damn computer in my palm. With a big glass screen. And I'm going to snowboard with that in my chest pocket? I dunno. Might be time to find a "classic" (generational, not brand) iPod on e-Bay!

.

[Lorien]

18. No, it's just a better product

I'm losing track of the number of friends and family members who have switched to Mac in recent years. In the long run Mac owners save money by not having to replace their damn computer every few years (as my best friend has-he has five barely functioning PC laptops in his office and one perfectly functioning Macbook Pro), but they also save their sanity and days and days worth of time. The products just plain work.

[bitchkitty]

26. Hip and trendy, maybe for some people.

But for professional designers, or in fact people who don't like numerous patches and security updates, or their browser freezing up, or pages looking whacked in IE....

I speak from experience. Once you go Mac, a PC looks like a pile of shit.

[wickerwoman]

29. I'll say it again...

I've had three Apple laptops in 15 years. In the exact same time, my dad has had 9 PCs and my brother has had 7. All three of my laptops still run perfectly. I've only had one problem in 15 years and when I took it into the local shop they fixed everything for free the same day even though my computer was three years old and not under warranty.

I'm willing to pay a bit extra up-front for a hassle-free computer that lasts three times as long as a PC. But I guess good customer service and a durable product are just sooo "hip and trendy" and therefore worthy of contempt. BTW, my family has owned at least one Mac since 1984. That's a hell of a long trend.

[shanti]

58. totally agree

2 new laptops in 4 years, two different brands, both bit the dust (hard drive/screen). i bought my 4 year old used ibook 3 months ago and it works like a top. not ONE problem - and so much faster! i'm not really a brand-loyal person, but this time i am sold. *eyeing the mac air*

problem is that some websites only run on windoze. maybe i should have a pc just for that? :shrug:

[grace0418]

37. My husband has a pc and I have a mac (I'm a graphic designer so there is no other

machine I would use for design). It's funny, for all the talk about Apple products being overpriced, "hip and trendy" junk, my macbook pro works like a freaking trooper. I have music playing, I'm looking for images online, I'm working on a huge photoshop file, I'm organizing my downloads, I've got a pdf open with the specs for this job, as well as email and messenger running. My husband pretty much starts swearing at his computer the minute he opens it up. And he's a software engineer. If he needs to check something quickly online, he usually ends up using my mac because it's faster and easier. Even though he uses a pc at work, he's seriously considering getting a mac for use at home. And he's the furthest thing from a slave to what is hip and trendy.

[Catch22Dem]

6. Apple haters make me chuckle

Always have.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

33. Remember that unctuous anti-Apple troll? Nomad559?

Boy, I wish he tried to re-register (he did that a couple of times, but his style of jerkish condescension was easily identifiable) and offer us his insight of these two developments. (This, and Microsoft doing badly)

[TrogL]

35. That's what they said in 1984 when the Mac came out

[Belial]

8. They should make a profit.. their markup is @ 100% but they look really cool..

[alfredo]

14. Selling is theater, and Apple is very good at winning the Tony year after year.

You might have the greatest product in the world, but if you don't know how to sell it, you might as well sell the business.

[Lorien]

21. I'm sure it's more than 100%. I design products for a large corporation

our markups are 400-800%.100% used to be considered pretty good decades ago, now stockholders scream for cheaper labor if it dips that low. :-(

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

23. That's certainly not the case for iPods.

I'd hazard a guess that FOB for an iPhone is around $160 if not more. I worked for a company that used the PSP's screen for products (which is a Sharp invention) and it cost around $35 in bulk without touch capabilities, so it doesn't seem unreasonable to say that they might be going to that price or higher on just the screen. Possibly as much as $45. They're certainly not getting 400%. There's no way that FOB for an iPhone is sub-$100. Nobody makes 400% at that price point and volume.

I think the margins on their computers are probably a lot higher than their consumer stuff.

[alfredo]

13. Wasn't expecting that at all.

[xchrom]

31. ThangGawd -- some good news. nt

edited because i spelled good - 'geed'.:eyes:

[Stinky The Clown]

40. Whoa! How cool is THAT?

[WriteDown]

48. Wow, monopolies do work....

good to know. Still waiting on being able to put napster songs on my iPhone 3G. Have a feeling I will be waiting for a while though.

[NYCGirl]

51. If your Napster songs are MP3s, they should go on your iPhone. Is there some

proprietary stuff from Napster?

BTW, all the music in iTunes is now DRM free.

[WriteDown]

52. No...

I pay like 12$ a month and I can load ALL the files on pretty much any MP3 player out there....except an ipod or iphone. Apple's rule, not Napster's. I just have to reconnect the MP3 player to Napster about once a month to "renew" the lease.

[NYCGirl]

54. Strange, I have MP3s I obtained in other methods that play fine.

But they weren't from a subscription service.

From what I can tell, the tracks use the PlaysForSure codec, which, strangely, does not work on Zunes, either.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napster_(pay_service)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlaysForSure

[Sultana]

49. Thar's my Apple

:D