You wouldn't know there's a recession by Apple's earnings report from this past quarter: Revenues were over $10 billion for the first time ever and they sold the most iPods ever. Updated.
Update: From the Q&A:
Tim Cook on iPhone competition: "We like competition as long as they don't off our IP. And we're going to go after anybody that does." Q: Is that about Palm? A: "I'm making a general statement...We will not stand for having our IP ripped off" and will use any "weapons at our disposal."
"How's Steve?...How will you run the company?...Tim will you be the likely candidate?"
Answer from Peter Oppenheimer, CFO: "Steve is the CEO of Apple."
Apple COO Tim Cook who's running the day-to-day show while Steve is away, in his southern drawl: "The values of our company are extremely well entrenched. We belive we're on the face of the earth to make great products... We believe in the simple, not the complex...Frankly, we don't settle for anything less than excellence." In other words, Steve's vision lives on. "Those values are so embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well."
No cheapo phones, because they don't want to "lead unit sales" they want to "build the world's best phone."
Apple TV still just a "hobby." =(
Actual Earnings Stuff
The earnings call, where they'll talk about the numbers in detail and undoubtedly field questions about Steve Jobs' health (dunno how they can ignore the SEC question), starts in about 15 minutes, and we'll be updating throughout if there's anything interesting. Here's what we have so far: Revenues of $10.17 billion for $1.58 billion profit, fueled by 22.7 million iPods, 4.36 million iPhones (a dip from the RIM-busting 6.9 million sold last quarter) and 2.5 million Macs.
That 2.5 million Macs is nine percent growth over last year's quarter. Desktop sales declined by 25 percent versus last year ('cause the iMacs are old whereas they were fresh this time last year) and because, Apple says, people are shifting to portables—hence 71 percent of Macs sold were portables.
MP3 player share was over 70 percent December. Obviously, most iPods sold ever, 22.7 million.
13.7 iPhones sold in the calendar year 2008, more than the 10 million Apple had originally predicted.
Half of Macs sold in Apple Store still to people who'd never owned a Mac before.
Apple Reports First Quarter Results
Best Quarterly Revenue and Earnings in Apple History
iPod Sales Set New RecordCUPERTINO, California—January 21, 2009—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 first quarter ended December 27, 2008. The Company posted record revenue of $10.17 billion and record net quarterly profit of $1.61 billion, or $1.78 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $9.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.58 billion, or $1.76 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 34.7 percent, equal to the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
In accordance with the subscription accounting treatment required by GAAP, the Company recognizes revenue and cost of goods sold for iPhone™ and Apple TV® over their economic lives. Adjusting GAAP sales and product costs to eliminate the impact of subscription accounting, the corresponding non-GAAP measures* for the quarter are $11.8 billion of “Adjusted Sales” and $2.3 billion of “Adjusted Net Income.”
Apple sold 2,524,000 Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing nine percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold a record 22,727,000 iPods during the quarter, representing three percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone units sold were 4,363,000, representing 88 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.
“Even in these economically challenging times, we are incredibly pleased to report our best quarterly revenue and earnings in Apple history—surpassing $10 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time ever,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.
“Our outstanding results generated over $3.6 billion in cash during the quarter,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2009, we expect revenue in the range of about $7.6 billion to $8 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $.90 to $1.00.”
[SEC via AllThingsD, Apple]