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Still In The Black (4/15/98)
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Not that it came as any surprise to those of us who watch Apple like a rabid pack of obsessive groupies (or even to those of us who watch Apple in much the same way that we can't help staring at a car wreck), but Apple posted another profit today. And just as they did for Q1, their Q2 numbers exceeded the analysts' consensus; while the average analyst prediction was $21 million, Apple instead revealed a comfortable $55 million profit. As you should expect, the net is ablaze with stories about Apple's continuing profitability-- you can find a ton of them over at MacSurfer's Headline News. We personally recommend that you check out MacCentral's notes from the Apple teleconference, at which they reported the good news, and of course there's always Apple's official press release on the subject. (And, just to keep the universe in some semblance of balance, there's the obligatory "Yeah, they're profitable, but they still suck" article over at CNET.)
For the most part, the details of the results reveal excellent news all around. Unit shipments increased 8% from the same quarter a year ago, and gross margins increased to 25% from 19% in Q2 '97. Yes, revenues are down slightly, but given that Apple nixed many of its peripheral product lines like color printers and digital cameras (and the fact that Macs simply cost less these days), that's neither surprising nor alarming. And compared to the same quarter a year ago (in which Apple lost a massive $708 million), things are positively rosy. The key to the picture is the PowerMac G3, which made up over half of all units sold.
As for the analysts' predictions being off by some $34 million or so, what can we say? AtAT viewers know the real score. A whopping twelve entrants in our "Beat the Analysts" contest accurately predicted the size of Apple's Q2 profit. Major congratulations are in order to eagle-eye Apple-watchers Jon Bodner, Travis Sherer, Steve Palmieri, Joe Shear, Mike Esparza, John Campbell, Gustavo Delfino, Colin Chung, Kristy Fairchok, Judy Habel, Merry Carter, and Mark Tyrrell. For more details on the results (such as who wins what), head over to the contest page.
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 4/15/98 episode: April 15, 1998: You can't keep a good computer company down... Apple posts its second straight profit, and in its most difficult quarter, to boot. Meanwhile, rumors of a surprise Allegro Lite introduction at WWDC pique our interest, and Larry Ellison's lips are moving, but nothing consequential comes out...
Other scenes from that episode: 630: Think Lite, Think Soon (4/15/98) Wow, we wish Mac the Knife had been incarcerated earlier! It seems that since he got thrown in the slammer, the juicy tidbits just keep on coming. Today he reports that Apple's Newton OS replacement may not be as far off as we've all been thinking... 631: Much Ado About Nothing (4/15/98) We wanted to spend a little airtime telling you about the neato interview with Gil Amelio over at Mac Home Journal (and now I guess we have-- neat how that works out, hmmmm?), but then we saw that Larry "Blabbermouth" Ellison's been talking to reporters again, and that will always take precedence on our show, no matter how mundane his comments...
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