Apple Stops Reporting Unit Sales Amid Strong Earnings

AlphaAtlas

AlphaAtlas

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Apple announced that year-on-year quarterly earnings were up nearly 20% in their latest earnings call. While total device sales were relatively flat, Apple's big price bumps more than made up for it. VentureBeat pointed out that Apple isn't keen on advertising these relatively flat sales, as they've stopped breaking out individual sales of iPhones, iPads, and Macs. They said "For the average consumer, this probably doesn't even warrant a shrug. But for investment analysts and reporters, it's the latest example of behavior that has become a pattern for Apple: When it doesn't like metrics, it buries them."

The company did something similar in September 2016 when it announced it would stop sharing first weekend sales of new iPhones as the iPhone 7 went on sale. Such statistics were always a bit fuzzy, but for many years Apple was only too happy to trumpet annual new sales records and bask in the mounds of free publicity that followed. Until, of course, it stopped setting new records. Likewise, Apple has always loved to tout the success of Apple's retail stores, disclosing in filings an "average revenue per store" figure. But that number hit a rut between 2012 and 2014, and people began to talk about challenges the company faced in this realm. And so in the 2015 annual filing, that particular metric disappeared. The same year, Apple also stopped providing a breakdown of its full-time employees versus retail workers.
 
Twisted Kidney said:
You can only milk your whales so hard, though. Much like video game companies, there's trouble brewing for Apple.

Some day they will name a price people won't pay.
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But then all they have to do is bump up the advertising and tell their sheeple that the price they have to pay for the unicorn tears and fairy dust has skyrocketed and that said tears and dust is even higher quality then before which in turn makes the iDevices even more magical and the sheeple will just baa and go along with it.
 
cyclone3d said:
But then all they have to do is bump up the advertising and tell their sheeple that the price they have to pay for the unicorn tears and fairy dust has skyrocketed and that said tears and dust is even higher quality then before which in turn makes the iDevices even more magical and the sheeple will just baa and go along with it.
Click to expand...

What do you think they have been doing? That bubble is only going to last so long.
 
Aireoth said:
What do you think they have been doing? That bubble is only going to last so long.
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I wouldn't underestimate the sheeple's devotion to Apple no matter how high the prices go.

Pretty evident by them having a flat sales of devices after jacking up the prices sky-high already.
 
cyclone3d said:
I wouldn't underestimate the sheeple's devotion to Apple no matter how high the prices go.

Pretty evident by them having a flat sales of devices after jacking up the prices sky-high already.
Click to expand...

Their market is burning out, they are only making increased profits through increased price rather than penetration, and with the move to cut out reporting on units sold that tells me that units sold are beginning to decrease.
 
The iDevice innovation era has officially ended as Apple hides the figures and transitions to milking consumers for Data Analytics and transitions to Services.
 
You don't drag someone on Jerry Springer to tell them things are going well.
 
A lot of companies do this (I can't name an example off the top of my head). Apple isn't the only one that doesn't share sales numbers. Some only share numbers that can be PR-friendly and look good within a precisely sculpted paragraph or sentence.

It's not the first time I heard of this practice and won't be the last.
 
One of things that often gets over-looked is the whole "eco system" that makes Apple products so easy to use with little to no technical expertise. They have a MUCH better track record as far as privacy goes and only have to worry about a few hardware profiles versus hundreds in the Android space.

I agree their pricing borders on absurd. However, the rare occasions I have had issues with on of my Apple devices, a quick trip to the store left me with a resolved issue or a replaced device.

Their gear has also remained useful for much longer. It appears their hardware has outpaced software and user demands upon it and therefore no need to replace it on the regular.

They have customer service down well, worth a little extra in my opinion.
 
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Twisted Kidney said:
You can only milk your whales so hard, though. Much like video game companies, there's trouble brewing for Apple.

Some day they will name a price people won't pay.
Click to expand...

They are making themselves a premium brand where the margins are much higher.

For example, take a Ford Fusion vs a Lincoln MKS, or a Ford Taurus vs a Lincoln MKZ. They are the exact same platforms. But the margin on MKZ is like ~15% more.

It's the same for the Cruz vs the Volt. Halo cars get bigger margins.

There's a very simple formula to maximize returns. They do a curve fit to what they think # of people will pay versus a price point & margin. Where the slope is smallest is a potential solution point to price a product at.

But it's all speculative and Apple is getting into very risky territory. The latest iPhone X unit sales prove this.
 
Mega6 said:
The iDevice innovation era has officially ended as Apple hides the figures and transitions to milking consumers for Data Analytics and transitions to Services.
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This.

I work with people who would never consider a non-Apple phone.
They can't afford to replace their existing Apple phone, so they just deal with the problems while trying to get another 6 month out of it, or they end up buying a used one.

The people who can afford to replace their iPhone, now wait for a deal like BOGO free, buy last years model, or wait for a large discount.
 
nutzo said:
This.

I work with people who would never consider a non-Apple phone.
They can't afford to replace their existing Apple phone, so they just deal with the problems while trying to get another 6 month out of it, or they end up buying a used one.

The people who can afford to replace their iPhone, now wait for a deal like BOGO free, buy last years model, or wait for a large discount.
Click to expand...

I'm one of those poor saps myself. The problem is the inconvenience factor in switching away from apple when you have been in that ecosystem for any length of time. In my defense, I bought an iphone a lonnnggg time ago (android was just rolling out) and have just kept upgrading every three years or so (as you mention, waiting a year or more and buying the old "flagship" model at a steep discount).

People aren't switching from iOS to android or vice versa and the market has reached saturation (hence hiding the sales numbers). Until someone shakes up the market with a better OS or some innovation that is significantly better than all other phones, most people to avoid losing purchases, recreating accounts, transferring data, etc, etc. I was really hoping the RED phone would be a big step forward but it turned out dead on arrival. Maybe the foldable displays will finally bring in a new generation of phones. If some android manufacturer can pull it off first then I'm game - a big phone that actually fits in a pocket would be awesome IMO.
 
So what? they want to de-lever the stock price from the iPhone so they're going to stop reporting device sales. So long as revenue growth continues and profits rise, investors will not care.
 
People are so embedded to the iCloud ecosystem, it's incredibly difficult to leave it. That is where they're making their money. If somebody came up with a tool to help exit the iCloud environment, they'd be ludicrously rich.
 
wgm3446 said:
People are so embedded to the iCloud ecosystem, it's incredibly difficult to leave it. That is where they're making their money. If somebody came up with a tool to help exit the iCloud environment, they'd be ludicrously rich.
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Samsung SmartSwitch lets you put in your apple id and password and brings over a bunch of stuff from icloud.
 
So when can we go back and have our phones average cost be $300-$400 again? I tire of paying $800+ every two years for a device that really isn't THAT much better than the old POS it's replacing!
 
SamuelL421 said:
I'm one of those poor saps myself. The problem is the inconvenience factor in switching away from apple when you have been in that ecosystem for any length of time. In my defense, I bought an iphone a lonnnggg time ago (android was just rolling out) and have just kept upgrading every three years or so (as you mention, waiting a year or more and buying the old "flagship" model at a steep discount).

People aren't switching from iOS to android or vice versa and the market has reached saturation (hence hiding the sales numbers). Until someone shakes up the market with a better OS or some innovation that is significantly better than all other phones, most people to avoid losing purchases, recreating accounts, transferring data, etc, etc. I was really hoping the RED phone would be a big step forward but it turned out dead on arrival. Maybe the foldable displays will finally bring in a new generation of phones. If some android manufacturer can pull it off first then I'm game - a big phone that actually fits in a pocket would be awesome IMO.
Click to expand...

Yea... sure.... That's your opinion. You are just one of the many cultists that made Apple a 1 trillion dollar company. You do not see the rat race in good o Silicon Valley like I do, nor in the Manner than I do. People who bought into Apple, bought into the status symbol it represents. And that is the part of the reason. It's the I MUST HAVE syndrome. Their product line has been shit for 4 years now, especially after Jobs death and Cook too over. There has nothing really impressive about the iphone except its price. What Apple has done is cultivate it's consumer base to the point of a religion. It is no longer about having the best and being a leader in their field. It is all about THE CULT OF MAC. The illusion of superiority. That status symbol that can be gained by being buying into it.

And try to fix it??? They aggressively attack any 3rd party company with lobbyists, attorneys, and the US Customs... NO. They are a predatory corporation using LIES and strong arm tactics to keep sheeple like yourself feeling good about being Apple person....

Think of it in this way.. I can feed a family of 5 who are in need for the amount for the amount of a Apple 10.

You can keep your status symbol.... I'll keep me money. And I'll use it that I know who are in need than those assholes who are super rich trying to by their legacy into history.

halo000008 said:
Samsung SmartSwitch lets you put in your apple id and password and brings over a bunch of stuff from icloud.
Click to expand...

Yes and there are a lot of smart phones that can do the as good at the crap Apple is Peddling.
 
Yea I've seen a few long time Apple users switch recently to Android and I hounded them to find out why because it just rarely happens. Never got a worthwhile answer, probably the price though
 
while they are certainly not cheap my xs max is a very nice phone and a definite upgrade to my 7 plus. also i dont want google having all my shit i dont trust them. at least with apple they seem to be much better with privacy.
 
Aireoth said:
Their market is burning out, they are only making increased profits through increased price rather than penetration, and with the move to cut out reporting on units sold that tells me that units sold are beginning to decrease.
Click to expand...

This is what I believe. Unless I am mistaken, Apple's share of the smartphone market peaked in 2011 or 2012. Since then they have more often lost market share rather than gained it looking quarter to quarter. The number of iPhone users appears to have reached a steady state, with a slow erosion. The iPod revenue stream is totally gone. The iPad market share peaked at about the same time the iPhone share did, and has been below 35% ever since. The one area Apple is doing relatively ok is in the computer segment, where their market share is inching up every so slowly.

As the prices continue to go up, I think Apple will speed up the erosion of their user base. Those massive profits on the back of what is a line of niche products will eventually dry up.
 
jnemesh said:
So when can we go back and have our phones average cost be $300-$400 again? I tire of paying $800+ every two years for a device that really isn't THAT much better than the old POS it's replacing!
Click to expand...

Just keep your phones for 4 years. $800 divided by 4 years is $200/year. :p
 
Shrug. All of my Apple friends and relatives have either the X or the new 2018 X models. As do I.

Apple in trouble? Hahaha. It does warm my heart though to see the hatred exhibited here. It has never wavered.
 
jnemesh said:
So when can we go back and have our phones average cost be $300-$400 again? I tire of paying $800+ every two years for a device that really isn't THAT much better than the old POS it's replacing!
Click to expand...
As soon as the industry shifts back to $80 dollar cell plans as if hiding the device cost in a recurring subscription model (that didn't end when the device as paid off in full) was somehow better for consumers.
 
halo000008 said:
Samsung SmartSwitch lets you put in your apple id and password and brings over a bunch of stuff from icloud.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but then you would be running Samsung's software. No thanks. If I were to switch to Android I'd only consider the Google direct phones.
 
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