01/30, 6:38pm
More users on mobile than on desktop for first time
Facebook reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year that concluded in December 2012. The social network leader posted $1.59 billion in earnings, with 17 cents gained per share -- beating Wall Street's estimate of $1.53 billion. Despite the company's record-high earnings, it posted just $64 million in net income on the quarter. For the first time, the number of daily active users on Facebook mobile was greater than that on the desktop, with 157 million mobile users never having connected using a desktop.
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04/24, 9:50pm
$7.9B of Asia-Pacific's overall $10.15B haul
The Asia-Pacific region and China specifically were called out several times in today's earnings call with analysts. CEO Tim Cook was unusually candid in breaking out some China-specific numbers, noting that of the $10.15 billion in Asia-Pacific sales in the company's second fiscal quarter, China alone accounted for $7.9 billion, a tripling of sales on a year-over-year basis. Cook also said Apple was seeing a "halo effect" that was increasing Mac sales in the region.
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07/13, 10:30pm
Nokia settlement may factor in on July 19 results
The iPad 2 is leading the way to improved financial numbers for Apple's fiscal third quarter, according to Apple analyst Maynard Um of UBS Equity Research. He is raising his forecast for the quarter -- Apple announces Q3 results July 19 -- due to stronger iPad sales, now estimated at 7.9 million units, alongside improved component pricing that Um projects will add 0.6 percent to Apple's gross margin. Shaw says a less dilutive back-to-school promotion that provides a $100 credit in apps on the App Store -- instead of $220 in free hardware with physical costs to Apple as was the case in previous years -- will factor into the improved margin as well.
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01/21, 4:40pm
Apple's best quarter ever
Apple today posted record revenue of $10.17 billion and record net quarterly profit of $1.61 billion, or $1.78 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $9.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.58 billion, or $1.76 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 34.7 percent, equal to the year-ago quarter and international sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter’s revenue. Apple sold 2,524,000 Macs during the quarter, representing nine percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold a record 22,727,000 iPods during the quarter, representing three percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone units sold were 4,363,000, representing 88 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.
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08/28, 5:35pm
Dell dissappoints in Q2
Dell on Thursday posted a disappointing drop in quarterly earnings, citing slow IT spending in Asia and Western Europe, and increased spending to drive growth. The company's surprising 17 percent decline in quarterly profit sent the world's second largest PC maker's shares down more than 10 percent. Dell reported fiscal second quarter revenue of $16.4 billion, up 11 percent year-over-year and driven by a 19 percent increase in worldwide product shipments, but its $0.33 EPS, before one-time costs, was short of investors' expectations of $0.36 per share. After its one-time costs and amortization, Dell's profit fell to $616 million in the second quarter (ended August 1) or 31 cents per diluted share, from the restated year-ago net income of $746 million, or 33 cents per diluted share.
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07/21, 11:00pm
Apple's mystery transition
One of the most interesting things to come out of Apple Apple's Investor Conference Call today has to do with what CFO Peter Oppenheimer would not talk about –- a mysterious "product transition." Oppenheimer told analysts that the transition will affect earnings in the September quarter and into next year, but –-- in keeping with Apple's long-standing policy of not commenting on future products –- he did not elaborate. Apple's profit margin in the third quarter was about 35 percent. The company's forecast calls for that margin to drop to 31.5 percent in the current quarter.
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07/21, 7:45pm
Apple's stock down
Despite record setting earnings for the third quarter of 2008, Apple's stock is down sharply in after-hours trading. As of 4:45 PST, shares were hovering at $148.94, down $17.35 or 10.43 percent. Apple posted revenue of $7.46 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per diluted share for its fiscal 2008 third quarter ended June 28, 2008. In the best June quarter in its history, the company sold almost 2.5 million Macs, or a 41 percent increase from the year-ago quarter and over 11 million iPods.
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05/29, 5:45pm
Dell revenue up
Dell has reported fiscal first quarter revenue of $16 billion, a 9 percent year-over-year increase. While net earnings of $0.38 cents per share represent a 12 percent increase, operating income was down 4 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. In a statement, Dell officials said that the results were driven by "better-than-industry growth of commercial and consumer products and services, and lower operating expense as a percent of revenue." Specifically, notebook sales skyrocketed 43 percent, a rate Dell says is 1.2 times the industry average. The consumer segment was also especially strong, with Dell claiming to grow global share of this market by 1.2 points to 8.8 percent during the quarter.
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04/23, 7:35pm
Education and Macs grow
Apple today posted its best second quarter in company history, with good news from its education, computer, and iPhone segments. Educational revenue growth was revealed to be 35-percent, which Apple says is the highest growth rate it has seen
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04/21, 7:25pm
Eudora clone/successor
In brief: Apple will broadcast its second quarter results conference call on Wednesday, Odysseus, the Eudora clone/successor, is available for pre-order, O'Reilly has published a new edition of the big book of Apple Hacks, and Carbon fiber cases for the iPhone are once again shipping ... Apple will broadcast its 2008 second quarter results conference call on Wednesday, April 23, 2008, 2:00 p.m. PDT/5:00 p.m. EDT. The conference call will be available as a continuous rebroadcast utilizing QuickTime. The live audio webcast will be accessible through Apple's website. Viewers need a copy of QuickTime 6 or QuickTime 7 to listen to the conference call.
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04/18, 3:10pm
Apple shares up 4.5%
Shares of Apple Computer Inc. are up $6.51 to $161 near the end of trading on friday, representing a gain of 4.21 percent. The uptick could be due, at least in part, to strong market share gains posted by the company in recent surveys from various research firms. Apple saw the biggest gain among the top 5 vendors in the U.S. market according to Gartner, enjoying strong retail sales coupled with "decent growth" in the professional market. According to IDC, Apple is expected to come in at fourth place and ship 950,000 Macs to Americans during the first quarter of 2008, earning itself an increase from 5.7 percent in the prior quarter to 6 percent. The increase is a 25.1 percent jump over sales in early 2007 and also represents more than a full percentage point increase in marketshare from year to year.
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04/18, 12:35am
Google beats estimates
Google today posted its first quarter profits, thoroughly outpacing Wall Street analyst estimates, which were based on the effects a slowing economy would have on sales and earnings. According to CNN Money, the news follows a weak fourth quarter last year, with earnings coming in under analyst estimates. The report shows Google's income rising 30 percent to $1.31 billion – $4.12 a share – with $1.54 billion before one-time charges.
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02/11, 4:30pm
Apple, Citigroup Top Picks
Apple stock was subject to slight gains as Citigroup added the Cupertino-based company to it Top Picks Live list, which allowed the computer manufacturer to maintain a Buy rating, with a target of $212 per share. According to AppleInsider, shares of the company have been on a slight rollercoaster ride since its December peak of $199.83, taking a total hit of 37-percent since that time. Citigroup expects Apple's earnings per share will beat consensus by 10 cents, possibly more, for its predicted March quarter.
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01/23, 1:10am
Summary of Q1 financials
Apple recently made available its first quarter financial data for 2008, which displayed record earnings for the company. Senior VP and CFO Peter Oppenheimer guided analysts and industry insiders through the quarterly figures, citing record Mac sales, with strong software and iPod sales backing the numbers. A strong install-base of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard has also helped the company's quarter, with estimates being placed at a 19-percent install base on Macs. Apple's cash generation has doubled that of its net income, and has over $18 billion of financial reserves.
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01/22, 5:50pm
Apple shares plummet
Apple's shares plummeted in after-hours trading today, nearly $19 per share or just over 12 percent to stand at $136.82 as of 5:35PM ET. Shares had already lost about 3.5 percent during normal trading hours on volume of about 85 million. That means Apple's shares are off more than 30 percent from their 52-week high of $202 reached in late December, 2007. Propelling the earnings decline was Apple's earning forecast. For its second quarter, Apple expects earnings of about 94 cents per share on about $6.8 billion in revenue. Analysts expected earnings of $1.09 per share on revenue of $6.98 billion. This despite the fact that Apple is predicting a 29 percent increase in revenue year-over-year, while last march revenue grew only 21 percent.
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01/22, 5:15pm
Apple's record earnings
Apple today reported record breaking earnings that soared above all previous quarterly results, marking the best three-month period for the Cupertino-based company since its inception in 1976. "We're thrilled to report our best quarter ever, with the highest revenue and earnings in Apple's history," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We have an incredibly strong new product pipeline for 2008, starting with MacBook Air, Mac Pro and iTunes Movie Rentals in the first two weeks."
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01/22, 12:15am
Apple's Q1 2008 results
Apple on Tuesday will release its Q1 fiscal results, which are expected to show better-than-anticipated numbers, mainly due to strong Mac sales. Despite a steady tumble in share price starting in early January, analysts are predicting that Apple could be worth close to $600 per share within 18 months. In addition to strong machine sales, the optimistic outlook is fueled by Apple's desire to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008, as well as the prospect of an iPhone "nano".
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12/07, 12:00am
Palm preliminary Q2 2008
Palm on Thursday announced its preliminary second quarter financial results for the 2008 fiscal year, which ended November 30th, falling short of previous forecasts based in part on a failed "mystery" product launch. Palm expects earnings to sit between $345 to $350 million, close to $30 million short of its October 1st projections for the first quarter. Palm expects gross margin to be within 29.3- to 29.8-percent on a GAAP basis. The gross margin reflects an as-of-yet unforeseen increase in warranty repairs over the course of the quarter, partly due to higher-than-expected shipments of Palm's new Centro smartphone, and a delay in product shipment.
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