One of the things I really can't stand is accounting. Don't ask me why, but it's enough to mention that I hate repetitive tasks and math. That's almost as good as an answer, right? Anyway, getting back to those quarterly Apple revenue reports is something I'll keep doing, especially when the results are looking so interesting, as they do this time...
When I say "interesting," I don't think about the numbers, because there's something even more interesting than them, and that is their meaning. Just think about the fact that the global economy is going down, and Apple goes up; the Windows-based computer sales everywhere show a much smaller growth rate than Macs; finally, the cherry on top is that the iPhone, despite all its problems, is selling better than everyone(including Apple) expected. Now, let's take these down one by one, shall we?
First of all, let's take a brief look at the numbers. Even Steve Jobs said the numbers are "truly stunning," and here's why - "By eliminating subscription accounting, adjusted sales for the quarter were $11.68 billion, 48% higher than the reported revenue of $7.9 billion, while adjusted income was $2.44 billion, 115% higher than the reported net income of $1.14 billion. Adjusted net income that is more than double our reported income. If this isn't stunning, I don't know what is. All due to the incredible success of the iPhone 3G."
When talking about devices shipped during the last quarter, they also look stunning, of course. Just think about 2,611,000 Macs(21 percent unit growth and 17 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter), 11,052,000 iPods during the quarter(8 percent unit growth and 3 percent revenue growth), and no less than 6,892,000 iPhones, compared to 1,119,000 in the year-ago-quarter. Stunning, indeed, simply stunning!
Regarding the iPhone, it is also worth being mentioned that Apple managed to climb into the third position of the world's largest mobile phone suppliers top, beating Sony Ericsson and RIM's Blackberry.
With the Apple revenue reports looking so good, I only have one wish remaining - a few thousand Apple shares in my (currently empty) portfolio. Thank you very much in advance, Santa! ;)
