“[On Friday], Microsoft announced fiscal 2010 third quarter results: $14.5 billion revenue, $5.17 billion operating income and $4.01 billion net income, or 45 cents a share,” Wilcox reports. “On Tuesday, Apple announced fiscal 2010 second quarter results: $13.5 billion revenue and net profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 a share. Apple revenue is $1 billion behind Microsoft, while net income trails by a little less — about $940 million.”
“The $1 billion gap was unthinkable a year ago and unimaginable a half decade ago. In the same calendar quarter of 2005, Microsoft reported revenue of $10.9 billion, operating income of $3.89 billion and net income of $2.98 billion, or 29 cents a share,” Wilcox reports. “By comparison, Apple reported $3.24 billion revenue and $290 million net income or 34 cents a share. The difference between the two: $7.01 billion by revenue and $3.6 billion by net income.”
MacDailyNews Take: Here’s to the crazy ones: As we have always said, even as many short-sightedly waved (and continue to wave) the white flag, the war is not over. And, yes, we shall prevail… No company is invincible. Not even Microsoft. – MacDailyNews Take, January 10, 2005
Wilcox continues, “Apple hugely beat the Street during the last two quarters — by $1.46 billion during fiscal Q2. It’s not a stretch of the imagination or reasonable speculation for Apple to close the distance during second calendar quarter or sometime later in 2010.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
M$ opened April 4, 1975. Here we are 35 years later and they still do not have a R&D;department. Just think was they could be if they had one.
Apple = M$’s R&D;department
@qka
Point of order.
Apple was incorporated January 3, 1977.
Microsoft was incorporated on June 25, 1981.
Note that although Gates et al. stated they founded MS in 1975, they shipped nothing until 1981, when they sold IBM an operating system they did not own. The incorporation was necessary to get to the table with IBM. Remember, they did not “create” MS-DOS, they bought, some say stole, from Tim Paterson. Further reading; the Wikipedia entry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOS
The point being, @breeze point stands correct. You @qka are out of order.
@qka
I forgot, Microsoft did ship products before 1981, they were for the Apple II. From Wikipedia: The TASC (The AppleSoft Compiler), which compiled a BASIC program into Apple machine language, and the hardware product Microsoft Softcard, an add-on Z80 processor card for the Apple II. They also “produced” Xenix, a license of AT&T;Unix, which was resold to OEM’s.
@breeze comment still stands, you are still out of order.
Apple catching on the revenue line is not that shocking as software is a higher margin business.
Apple catching on the net income line. Wow.
Unless MS finds some real (profitable) growth, they will.
Apple making more money than MS.
Wow. Just. Wow.
BUT there is a secret weapon involved: Steve. By which I mean Steve Ballmer. He has made MS as a business as ugly and kludgy as its products. He’s not the worst CEO ever… just a mediocre one. Like the kind Apple used to have. But companies like MS and Apple (as we know it today) are built by epically great CEOs. They build companies so great that it takes decades of mediocrity to destroy them. I figure MS is half way there. And Apple will have a good 20 years after SJ leaves.
Hmmmmmmmmm….. Apple is “BigLeaguered” now. Actually, has been for quite a while, even while many were calling it “beleaguered”, which is MDN’s favorite word these days for other companies.
he he
A slight spelling change from “beleaguered” to more accurately reflect Apple’s true place in the business world.
BigLeaguered.
I like it!
Apple achieved it’s dominance in the mobile field by legitimate means. It has not indulged in illegal competition. This in stark contrast to the convicted monopolist Microsoft that achieved the Windows monopoly on PC’s through dastardly elimination of their superior competitors. If the competition to the Apple ecosystem is better they will prevail and Apple will not stop them. Right now Apple is better and all signs are that they will stay better for some time to come.
It is amazing, though the comparison isn’t quite valid remember the change in accounting that only took place recently? last years quarter was still using the old system which spread iphone revenue across 24months GAAP or NON-GAAP, so depending on whether they keep doing that for all the iphone sales up tot he point they switched over to the new method of accounting, there may still be part of that 24 month spread being reported for the next 4 or 5 quarters before all the revenue is reported for that quarter only.
It all depends on whether they threw all that 24month revenue all at once into their total revenues/profit in the quarter they switched over or not, they reported both amounts for 2 quarters then they stopped showing both.
Still I’m sure the difference isn’t that significant to the comparison in this case, they did still have a record quarter for phone sales for which the bulk of the revenue/profit was from.
@One,
Both are consumer electronics companies; both are software companies. One is on fire, one is about to get burned.
By one important measure, Apple is already ahead of MS. Shareholders are interested in net profit per share. Apple — $3.33, MS 45 cents. Big gap.
@ Fandango
Neither the iPad Wifi + 3G nor the iPad Wifi (or accessories or apps) sales were included in last quarters earnings. This quarter should be a doozie unless iPad cannibalizes Apples other products.
@ ken1w
Apple is not just a hardware company they are a whole widget company. For every PC sale they take from the Microsoft camp MS loses 2 sales of there os because people use macs longer. They also often lose a sale of Office as well.
There are probably lots of other small items that they lose as well. Apple is as much about software as they are hardware.
@grh
Actually your point is incorrect for two reasons.
First Apple does not pay dividends so eps is just a number of academic interest – albeit a very good number. Many follow MS for the div.
Second, if you divide the eps by the share price, you’ll see that MS still comes comes out better for current quarters:
AAPL 3.35/270 = 0.012
MSFT 0.45/31 = 0.014
However if you do this test historically, Q by Q, you’ll see Apple is racing closer scary fast and will likely overtake MS rsn.
A truly remarkable achievement by ANY reckoning.
AAPL – world’s finest, most innovative most profitable, best run company. No question about that.