“For the fiscal third quarter, Apple’s revenues came in at $4.37 billion vs. $3.5 billion a year ago. Net income was $472 million, or 54 cents per share,” Arik Hesseldahl reports for BusinessWeek. “…Apple turned in a huge surprise when it came to sales of its Macintosh computers, particularly in the area of notebooks. The company sold 798,000 notebooks, an improvement by 300,000, or 61%, over the year-ago quarter. ‘They absolutely blew my expectations away with notebook sales,’ says analyst Charlie Wolf of Needham & Co. in New York. ‘And to think they only had six weeks with the new MacBook.'”
Hesseldahl reports, “The surge in laptops offset a drop in desktop sales, largely attributed to weakness in the pro desktop sector, where Apple has yet to ship a new machine based on Intel processors. Introduced in 2003, the PowerMac G5 was last updated in Oct. 2005. A new machine is expected to be called Mac Pro and should be out by the end of the summer.”
Hesseldahl reports, “Another interesting figure to come out of the conference call was that 50% of customers polled at Apple’s retail stores described themselves as ‘new to the Mac,’ indicating a surge in interest from people more accustomed to using computers running Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows operating system. This figure has been the subject of much conjecture that Apple might begin to turn around its sagging market share figures versus Windows-based PCs from Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and others, if only slightly.”
Hesseldahl reports, “It has also served to prove the so-called iPod halo effect, under which iPod owners become Mac owners. Running Windows as an option—which the Mac now does using an Apple program called Boot Camp—hasn’t hurt the Mac’s attractiveness to Windows users either.”
Full article here.
Related articles:
Merrill Lynch ups Apple rating to ‘buy’; UBS raises Apple target to $80 – July 20, 2006
Apple shares rocket over 12% in pre-market trading on strong earnings report – July 20, 2006
‘Fantastic quarter’ helps Apple double share of U.S. retail notebook market to 12% – July 19, 2006
Apple Q3 2006 Conference Call notes – July 19, 2006
Apple reports third quarter results: $0.54 per share on $4.37 billion in revenue – July 19, 2006
Are they actually buying Macs, though?
I go in lots of stores because they look cool (Sharper Image, Anthropologie, etc.), but lots of them I never end up purchasing anything from.
(P.S. I converted my granmother to a Mac. She’s 67 years old and she purchased a white MacBook!)
Customers implies they’re buying something, though.
I would guess they ask if they’re new to buying Macs at the checkout counter, not when they walk in the front door.
Sagging marketshare? No. The sag ended about two years ago.
Lagging? Sure, Apple lags behind HP, Dell etc. but they are catching up.
it’s happening folks. the people out there are finally getting a chace to experience the true computing experience. with more and more apple stores on the way, way more people will be exposed to macs than ever before. michael dell is pooping his pants right now.
I’ve been to Apple stores in GA, NC, and FL. Every last one of them were crowded and the checkout lines were long. It was a madhouse after the MacBooks dropped. It seemed like everyone was walking out with a laptop and an iPod to go along with it.
I still think that analysts don’t give Apple’s own retail channel the credit it deserves.
JadisOne,
That’s great to hear. I live in the sticks and have never been to an Apple Store. Do any of you others have similar tales to tell? Let’s hear about it!!
First the home, then the corporate world.
Excellent!
AAPL will probably see $47/share this summer.
why?
because everyone made an attempt to stop it from sliding below $50 again, so there is really no knowing where the bottom was for AAPL.
Also.. Apple’s revenues did not beat the estimates, it fell short by $30million.
Everyone was expecting more than $4.4billion
apple reported $4.37 ( the focus went to the earnings per share rather than revenue )
AAPL will probably see $47/share this summer.
why?
because everyone made an attempt to stop it from sliding below $50 again, so there is really no knowing where the bottom was for AAPL.
Also.. Apple’s revenues did not beat the estimates, it fell short by $30million.
Everyone was expecting more than $4.4billion
apple reported $4.37 ( the focus went to the earnings per share rather than revenue )
I live in Philthadelphia (no, not a typo – sound it out) and there are 2 Apple stores here – Ardmore and King of Prussia mall. Never been to the Ardmore one (it only recently opened), but I’ve been to the King of Prussia one dozens of times. It is always jam freakin’ packed! There is always a line at the cash registers, and at Christmas time it can be a dozen deep at each. My only complaint is that the workers can be a bit snooty and not too helpful sometimes. Most do know their Mac stuff, though, but if you start spouting off stuff that they don’t know about (ie. UNIX commands, terminal stuff, etc.), then they can get real testy!
What a great day for us Macsters, one and all! (It’s about time!)
The truth is that the revolution has finally begun in earnest. We will not dethrone MonkeySoft (and their chairman MonkeyShines) right away, of course, but every long journey begins with just a single step. Fifty years ago Japanese manufacturing was synonymous with crap; now it’s on par with the best in the world. That did not happen overnight, nor will Apple’s recapture of its original market share . . . but it WILL happen.
Let’s just hope that Mr. Steve’s health holds up to see the Promised Land!
I’ve been to the south Denver Apple store half a dozen times since its opening, and–as everyone has said–it is ALWAYS packed to the gills with shoppers, browsers, and buyers.
As for the supposed market insights of the a**hole above (Mac Realist, anyone?), there is no way in Hell that AAPL will see $47 this summer, for that season ends September 22. Steve will announce the blazing-fast Mac Pro the first week of August (among other products, I’d wager), and then the pre-fall buying flurry will begin. Following that, the Xmas buying splurge commences, leading Apple to post yet another one of the best quarters in its history. January will bring the announcement of the new viPod and OS X 10.5 (if not before), so the genius above will have to wait for two, possibly three, quarters to see another serious price pullback (if ever again).
How very, very depressing a time this must be for WinFanBoys. Gates is a goner, Ballmer’s a loser, and Vista is a no-show. If it weren’t for inertia, there’d be no joy in RedMudVille at all this year!
JadisOne:
I’m with you. I don’t think there is an iPod Halo Effect.
There sure as hell is an Apple Retail Store Effect. I’m not a retailer, but I would have to suggest that the Apple Cube Store is probably the Number One Retail Destination in the World right now. Who has a better one?
PS JadisOne. How does one pronounce your name, the French way, or anglicized?
Artisticulated:
You stole my thunder. Right on.
I’ve been in the Washington Apple stores (no pun intended) several times and they have always been busy – even the Bellevue store so close to the Microsoft campus. The employees have always shown enthusiasm and are there to answer questions. I’ve watched them stay with a customer for as long as an hour. While watching all this activity, other employees have approached me several times asking if I had any questions they could answer.
My experiences with the staff in the Apple stores has been quite positive. Apple has done a splendid job here.
And they’ll tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on.
Comment to the “Apple = Good, AAPL = BAD” idiot:
Can you tell me just WHO the “everyone” is that said Apple missed its target by $30 million? At one time “everyone” said the earth was flat. At one time “everyone” said that stomach ulcers were caused by stress and excess stomach acid. At one time “everyone” said that we were about to enter an ice age; a few years later “everyone” said we are about to enter unprecedented global warming.
If “everyone” had predicted that Apple was going to post $10 billion dollars in revenues for the quarter, would the company have missed predictions by $5.4 billion?
The key part of the word “analyst” is anal, but I’m sure you’re personally aware of that.
The FACT is that the company’s overall profits–real, not “everyone’s” estimates–were up 47% over the same quarter last year.
How’s DELL and MS doing along those lines, sir?
The current market shares gains in the midst of a platform transition are nothing short of astounding.
The naysayers will point out that Apple’s market share was higher in the late ’90s than it is today. The realists will understand that it is higher today than it was two years ago, and on an upward trend. Once it breaks the 5% US market share barrier, and hopefully the same globally before long, the only way is up!
Personally, I’d be happy with 10-15%. That would be one healthy niche.
M. T. MacPhee,
It’s pronounced ” JAY-diss won ” Good ol’ southeastern American dialect.
cuthbert
If you think our city is so PHILTHY, stop complaining on a mac message board and do something about it! The reason that there is so much trash in the streets is because of people with ATTY-tudes like yours
I hope you stay in KOP, we have enough trash to worry about.
Keep your Philadelphia insults to yourself.
Yeah, Apple’s going to tank because they missed some goofball’s “estimate”. They missed it by the same % as if the weatherman said it was 40% chance of rain and it only turned out to be only a 39.73% chance. Very sound analysis.
I like my mac better when market share and the stock price go up.
“I would guess they ask if they’re new to buying Macs at the checkout counter, not when they walk in the front door.”
I would guess that the’re using the most optimistic statistic possible, asking every iPod buyer, hey, are you new to the Mac?
Or even further, grabbing random shoppers browsing in the store and asking them.
The $4.4 billion is a consensus estimate. Being off $30 million is NOT that big of deal when you are talking about billions.
The market knew $30 million is chump change. They were much more keen on hearing about the iPod and Mac sales. Because those numbers were positive – the key concerns of the analysts, the stock got a lift.
Peace.
To Apple=Good, AAPL=Bad
“apple reported $4.37 ( the focus went to the earnings per share rather than revenue )”
Are you an idiot? Revenue is only important IF you are making a profit on it. It is really easy to increase revenue by cutting prices… and you can cut prices until you are not making a profit. YOU want to focus on the revenue??? OK, let’s say the revenues are $5 billion… and losses are $500 million… by your focus everything would be great!
As a stockholder I am more interested in the PROFIT line than the Revenue line. So long as Revenues exceed Profits, I am happy. I am ecstatic when management is able to increase the profit margin on the Revenues they have… and I am particularly ecstatic when they also increase revenues! I could care less that some analyst wonk somewhere pulled a revenue figure out of his posterior that wasn’t met… especially as that same wonk pulled a prediction for profits from that same posterior that was exceeded by 23% by the actual profits!