Get Well Soon, Steve – But Maybe Stay Home
April 23rd, 2009 - 10:07 am
Apple’s sales, margins, and profits are all up:
Apple today announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Apple posted revenue of $8.16 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.21 billion, or $1.33 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $7.51 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.05 billion, or $1.16 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.4 percent, compared to 32.9 percent in the year-ago quarter, and international sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter’s revenue. The numbers represent the best March Quarter revenue and earnings in Apple history.
Macintosh sales were down 3%, but iPod sales were up by that much, and iPhone sales jumped 123%. No company is recession-proof, but… damn.
Macintosh sales were down 3%
While the rest of the PC market was something like 6% down. So it’s still a win for Apple. When (IF) we pull out of this Repression, Apple (and AAPL) is poised to grow explosively. Snow Leopard will be out, the next gen iPhone will be out, iPhone OS 3.0 will be out. And there are consistent rumors about a Netbook/iTablet in the works. They’re kicking ass in so many ways, it’s practically impossible to keep up with them. Look at how bad Microsoft’s numbers were last night.
And Steve’s still driving the bus, Stephen. He’s just not the figure-head anymore. I think, frankly, he could step down as CEO, as that position is primarily concerned with the day-to-day operations of Apple. He could stay on as Chairman of the Board (and maybe President, or “Chief Architect” as Bill Gates did for a while [not that that's a model Apple would necessarily want to follow too closely!]), and still have his hands in a lot of the long-term “visiony” things. That’s where he excels. That’s where he belongs.