“On the eve of its fiscal third-quarter report, it’s hard to deny that the Cupertino, Calif., company has become better known for its massively popular iPod music players than its Mac line of computers. You do remember the Mac, right? Of course, the iPod is proving to be a thoroughbred of a product, so it’s tough to criticize Apple. Since the device’s launch in fiscal 2002, more than 15 million have been sold, much to the dismay of rivals like Creative Technology, Microsoft, Dell, Napster and Sony. In the process, Apple changed the face of an industry and beat more-seasoned consumer electronics companies at their own game,” Monica Rivituso writes for Smartmoney.com.
“My concern is that Apple’s impressive revenue growth of late has been fueled primarily by robust iPod sales. Of the $3.24 billion in revenue the company booked in its fiscal second quarter ended in March — a 70% jump from a year earlier — 31% came from the iPod line. That’s up from 14% in the second quarter of 2004. By contrast, sales from Apple’s Macintosh line of products (which tout better gross margins), accounted for 46% of total sales in its fiscal second quarter, down from about 60% a year ago. This counters some of the talk that Apple’s iPod is creating a ‘halo effect’ in boosting demand for Macs,” Rivituso writes.
MacDailyNews Take: It only would counter the talk coming from idiots, Monica. You’re looking at the wrong numbers. Percentage of Apple’s revenue is meaningless when looking for evidence of the “iPod Halo Effect.” The only question that really matters: are Apple selling more Macs? Why, yes, they are: Apple sold 1.07 million Mac units last quarter, up from 749,000 for the previous year’s quarter, a 43 percent increase in Mac sales year-over-year. It was also the second-straight quarter in which Apple sold more than 1 million Macs. The “iPod Halo Effect” is real and there’s your proof. Perhaps this article was meant for Stupidmoney.com, instead?
Rivituso continues, “Count on hearing lots about how educational sales are expected to ramp in coming weeks and how the latest version of its operating system is faring [when Apple releases quarterly results tomorrow]. Apple started shipping Mac OS X version 10.4 in March. With heartier multimedia features and innovative advances, such as a new desktop search tool called Spotlight, analysts are talking favorably about sales. Solid OS sales would definitely help Apple’s fiscal fourth and first quarters, and help remind investors that the company makes more than iPods.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Smart investors already know that Apple makes more than iPods.
Monica Rivituso’s email address is:
[UPDATE: 10:02pm EDT: added article author’s email address.]
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