LAT: Apple Computer Posts Five-Fold Profit Gain

[DeepModem Mom]

Apple Computer Posts Five-Fold Profit Gain
By Jesus Sanchez, Times Staff Writer


Apple Computer Co. was singing a happy tune today after the company reported that an approximately fivefold increase in the sale of its iPod digital music players helped trigger a huge jump in profits and revenues.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company said that profits for the quarter that ended March 26 jumped to $290 million from $46 million during the same period last year. In addition, quarterly revenue soared 70% to $3.24 billion.

"We are delighted to report a record second quarter for Apple in both revenue and earnings," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Apple is firing on all cylinders."

Shipments of iPods for the three month period ending March 26 totaled 5.31 million — a whopping 558% increase from the same period last year. The popularity of the iPod apparently also helped boost the company's traditional computer business: Macintosh shipments jumped 43% to 1.07 million machines, Apple said....


http://www.latimes.com/business/la-041305apple_lat,0,7744665.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Book Lover]

1. "Firing on all cylinders"?

No, you are morphing into a consumer-electronics company. Oh Steve....

[tubbacheez]

2. No kidding. If it weren't for personal music, Apple would be mediocre

at best.

[Book Lover]

7. And I'm the 1st to say that it's a damn shame

I work in publishing - we use Macs all the time. I just wish Jobs worked on the "Sell 'em cheap, put them everywhere" model, as opposed to the "Make 'em expensive, every one'll want one" model.

[slackmaster]

13. When they tried the "Sell 'em cheap" model in the mid-90s they screwed up

As a aystems integrator for an educational software software company I suffered mightily as Apple tried to make cheaper machines on the "NewBus" and their first attempts to use the PCI interface. It was really very sad. They dropped availability of a hardware MPEG converter at a critical time for my company (before processors and OSs and applications were fast enough to handle that task).

My company was put in the uncomfortable position of dropping the Mac as a platform, and telling our beta users they could put a Video In card in their Macs and use them as monitors for the Sony PlayStations we sent them.

:argh:

The newer Macs are wonderful machines in many respects. My mom uses one for professional video production.

[bpilgrim]

14. guess you haven't heard of the mac mini yet - first sub $500 mac ever

http://apple.com/macmini

peace

[Book Lover]

18. It *had* slipped my mind

Thank you for reminding me. I haven't had the opportunity to open one up yet, so I can't speak to the particulars, but if it can be opened and upgraded, that's be cool.

[PeaceProgProsp]

21. that's 100 times better than being a glorified electronic typerwriter

which is the way the average computer user used her computer until Apple got people to use them for music, movies and photos.�

[Book Lover]

34. I see you're forgetting about the C64 and the Amiga

But I'm used to that kind of thing.... ;-)

[Shadder]

3. Think about it...

At the prices they charge for those things they call a computer they don't have to sell all that many to make that kind of profit.

[darkism]

4. Such a shame

When there are so many superior music players out there. Seems that a lot of the Apple loyalists care only about form and nothing about function.

I'm sure the revelation that ** has an iPod will do WONDERS for their sales, though. :X

[Boo Boo]

22. Apple Loyalists?

Doesn't have a darn thing to do with iPod sales. Regardless of what is or is not superior, Apple utterly dominates that market. I wish I'd bookmarked the article I read recently, but the figures were stunning. I hadn't been paying much attention to the whole iTunes/iPod phenomenon, so I was somewhat taken aback by how completely they've taken over market. Jobs has hit a Grand Slam.

Good thing for Sony that they have their Playstation business, because they're getting their clocks cleaned by Apple in a market I'm sure they expected to rule. Interesting position for Apple, n'est pas?

It's important to understand, IMO, that this isn't just about player hardware---it's the total package. Without iTunes Apple's player would simply be compared by feature with other players. It's the complete solution that has nuked the other player makers.

MP3 players were for geeks. iPods are being bought by everybody. Parents get them as gifts for their children, then end up getting one for themselves.

[NashVegas]

27. Damn Straight

I knew iPods were going to take off when the hard-core geeks found out how hackable they were for other programs (datebooks, etc). Once that cat was out of the bag the PC folks picked up on them in a big way.

[TommyO]

25. Far from an Apple loyalist...

My 20Gb, Gen3 iPod was my very first Apple product purchased, EVER! I couldn't be happier with my purchase, I use it everyday, and it truly has revolutionized the way I listen to music (and the Randi Rhodes show). Quite simply put, the iPod functions perfectly.

[Boo Boo]

31. Ain't it the truth!

I bought a Mini for my sister last Christmas and was really impressed with the user interface. The touch "wheel" rocks. It takes about five minutes to learn how to use the thing. Zero problems.

Podcast = rather good idea. :think:

[bpilgrim]

5. glad to hear there seems to be a lot of spill over to their main product

best overall PC on the market. way to go apple :toast:

peace

[benburch]

10. OSX is the OS of choice for many uses!

I love it!

And you can run most GNU-ware on it;

http://fink.sourceforge.net/

[bpilgrim]

15. true dat

that we got unix under the hood makes my life so much easier and my computer a true multitasking machine that doesn't skip a beat no matter how many apps i got open ;->

:hi:

peace

[indianablue]

16. OS X is the main reason I bought a Mac.

I was doing a study on GUI OS's for a school report and came across OS X before it was released. I decided to buy a G3 iMac to try the Mac platform. I was a Windows man only before then. I liked OS 9 but that OS and it earlier version where showing their age.

OS X changed that it has gotten better and better through each upgrade. I have had little or no problems with OS X especially when it was upgraded to 10.1 and ever since 10.2 it has been truly awesome.

I can not wait for Tiger .

[wicket]

35. me too!

Once I played with OS X, I was hooked (and this is coming from a former Mac-basher).

[alfredo]

26. Give Scribus a try for document creation. It's pretty good.

Check out Inkscape for your SVG work.

I can't wait to play with the new features in Tiger.

[neuvocat]

6. Isn't Al Gore with their Board of Directors?

[Lisa]

9. Yes. I wonder if the Bush twins knew they were "buying blue"?

(they allegedly got their father that iPod for his birthday last year ...)

[NV Whino]

8. No Mac bashing allowed!

[tridim]

11. Is iPod bashing ok?

[MetaTrope]

17. Sure

It can't be hard to make a profit when you're charging 2-3x more than any comparable MP3 player on the market. With inferior custom-designed batteries, at that.

[tridim]

19. That's about what I was going to say.

I just can't figure out why so many people have been duped. Even my brother fell for the hype, and he's the smartest person I know.

[NV Whino]

20. I have no experience with the iPod

If it's a piece of crap, bash it. Don't bash it just 'cuz it's Apple.

[indianablue]

12. I agree..I use both MAC and WINTEl....

I prefer Mac but sometimes i need to use a WINTEL. I know Apple zealots cut down PCs and PC people bash Macs. There is plenty of room for both systems. If you hate Apple and it products do not buy them same goes with a PC it is simples as that.

[drduffy]

23. But I

am pissed off that I 'have' to have a PC to do my Medicaid billing on the North Carolina Medicaid web site ONLY while using a PC with IE. And Virtual PC will not work. What a major drag. I hate using Windoz. I used to manage a neuroscience lab and programmed on both platforms years ago. I learned ultimately that I simply wanted programs to work intuitively and 'crashlessly'. The Mac does it. But you are right, there ARE some reasons to use a Windoz machine....even if they are bogus. If only I didn't have to make money.

[ocean girl]

24. I have an iPod and many Macs in my home

and they are superior products. Once you have your own iPod, you'll understand the love affair.

I use PeeCees too - but I'm irritated the whole time.

[Voltaire99]

30. So do we. Great experience.

And after years of building and maintaining PCs, let me say it has been a sheer joy to abandon the Intel platform and work on OS X.

I've converted several people--former clients, friends, family. Nobody has looked back. No one needs my free tech support any more, heh heh; yes, an ulterior motive! ;-)

And the iPod's a delight.

Do I care how well Apple does as a corporation? Nah, not really--I love the products, that's it. To the extent that Apple's success means Apple remains in business, that's all I care.

[AlCzervik]

37. My husband works for apple, so on behalf of my family

thank you for keeping him employed and keeping food on my family.

[earth mom]

28. Go Apple! From another Mac lover here! :) eom

[phrenzy]

29. Apple Naysayers

The anti-apple trolls that crawl out of the woodwork to denounce the "overhyped" or "over priced" iPods / Macs are invariably people who haven't used an apple product for more than one hour in over 5 years. I t is uncanny. It is frightening the amount of people who say "Oh, macs crash all the time, god I hated macs in school - bla bla bla"

Sure you can look at a piece of paper and see that this mp3 player has such and such a feature and is cheaper - so does that make it "better"?

Umm, is a Chevy with a navigation system "better" than a BMW without one? You tell me.

It's called "Quality" - stop believing the FUD that sniveling PC geeks spew.

[Zech Marquis]

32. faithful Apple customer here

I am typing this on my 5 month old iMac G5--with not a single problem whatsoever--brotught an iSight webcam which is just fun to use with my friends in japan and elsewhere, I have Tiger on preorder :bounce:, and by this summer I'll also have a silver iPod mini, iWorks, perhaps an external dvd burner :-) Oh, and I need to buy a stock of apple form oneshare.com too :bounce:

[w4rma]

33. Al Gore is on the board of directors of Apple. (nt)

[gordianot]

36. As soon as I retire.

My Wintel crap will go in the trash forever. I bought my first Apple II in 1976, had to abandon them a couple years ago, but I will return.

[FlashHarry]

38. I switched two years ago and will NEVER go back.

My wife still runs Windoze, but I absolutely love OSX. You install programs and they work. You plug in peripherals and they work. It doesn't crash. I've never had a single virus. I don't have any spyware or adware.

And it isn't security through obscurity either.