If we want to talk about Apple's financial performance, after leaving aside the impressive iPhone 3G sales, we should also consider the fact that Apple's business is going well on the remaining fronts, as the latest Apple sales figures are showing. To make a longer story short, it's enough to say that, less than a day ago, the Cupertino-based company announced its 3rd Quarter 2008 Financial Results, but there are plenty of things to say about this, apart from those sales figures, so let's get this show rolling, shall we?
The short version of the story looks like this: almost 30 percent profit rise, taking the figure up to $1.07 billion, on revenues of no less than $7.46 billion. This means $1.19 per diluted share, if you are really crazy about numbers, but since nearly 2.5 million Macs and 11 million iPods have been sold during this period, Apple's impressive figures shouldn't look like something out of this world. After all, it's only the marketing behind some solid products, that's all. I think there are other companies on the market that could go pretty high, but they lack the marketing teams required to push them forward. Well, Apple has everything it needs!
Regarding Steve Jobs' health and the fact that he may leave Apple, we should have no concerns. While Oppenheimer didn't get into any details, he said "Steve loves Apple. He serves at the pleasure of Apple's board.He has no plans to leave Apple. Steve's health is a private matter," so this makes me think Jobs may have some health problems, but intends to stay with his company until the end. Well, let's just hope the end won't come anytime soon.
Now, let's get back to the Apple sales figures, shall we? Apple's estimations for the fourth quarter look like this - "Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, we expect revenue of about $7.8 billion and earnings per diluted share of about $1.00," but you shouldn't worry - the hit expected to be taken by the diluted share is caused by the back-to-school promotion offering free iPods to Mac-buying students, one-time costs, and a "significant product transition"(new Macs or iPods, anyone?).
To draw the line, let me say only this: Apple sales figures are rock solid for the current quarter, and I have a feeling that in the next 2-3 months, something big will happen. How big? Well, I guess it's going to be something big enough to help pushing the Holiday season up and make it the most profitable Apple has seen so far, but I can't bet on anything just yet.
