5 key quotes from Apple's earnings call
Acting CEO Tim Cook handled the bulk of the questions from analysts in Apple's (AAPL)Â second-quarter earnings call Wednesday, and he seized the opportunity — in Steve Jobs' absence — to wave the company's flag.
Five key quotes (checked against Seeking Alpha's transcript):
On Apple's shrinking market share: "I care about US share, of course I do. However, I think cycles come and cycles go. And what we’re about is making the best computers in the world, not making the most. … And we believe that if we do that over the long-term that we will gain share."
On netbooks: "For us, it’s about doing great products. And when I look at what is being sold in the netbook space today, I see cramped keyboards, terrible software, junky hardware, very small screens, and just not a consumer experience, and not something that we would put the Mac brand on quite frankly. And so, it’s not a space as it exists today that we are interested in, nor do we believe that customers in the long term would be interested in."
On leaving AT&T for Verizon: "We view AT&T as a very good partner. … We’re very happy with the relationship that we have and do not have a plan to change it. From a technology point of view as you know, Verizon is on CDMA and we chose from the beginning of the iPhone to focus on one phone for the whole of the world and when you do that, you really go down the GSM route, because CDMA is – doesn’t really have a life to it after a point in time."
On China: "We now have of the four BRIC countries, Brazil, Russia, India, and China, we have three of those up. We would like to be in China within the next year and are currently working on that. But I have got nothing specific to announce today on this."
On the Palm pre and Apple's intellectual property: "We think competition is great, we think it makes all of us better, as long as other companies invent their own stuff."
See also:
"On Apple’s shrinking market share"
Enough with this meme. Apple sold 2.22 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, representing a three percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/04/22results.html
The worldwide PC market contracted by 7.1% in the first quarter of 2009 according to IDC. It contracted by 3.1% in the US.
http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS21797609
The worldwide PC market contracted by 6.5% in the first quarter of 2009 according to Gartner. It contracted by 0.3% in the US.
http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=939015
On a worldwide basis, the Mac growth (3% decline) is ahead of the market (6.5% to 7.1% decline depending on who you ask). Thus, Apple is gaining share despite the slight decline in shipments. In the U.S. the Mac growth is also negative, Apple's share is down by 0.1% according to Gartner but it's up by 0.2% according to IDC. In all, Apple's market share is not slipping.
About netbooks, Tim Cook also said this:
"That said, we do look at the space and
are interested to see how customers respond to it
People that want a small computer (so to speak)
that does browsing and e-mail might want to buy
an iPod touch or an iPhone."
Now consider this:
According to him, iPod touch is a runaway hit,
clearly being driven by the App Store.
Conclusion:
The iPod touch gives a hint of Apple strategy for mobile devices.
A larger iPod touch is a no brainer, a guaranteed hit.
It does not take Albert Einstein to figure this one out.
Call it iTablet, Mac touch or else, it's their answer to the netbook.
It might not fit to your pocket, but most people carry bags, purses, etc. anyway.
And on the other hand, its larger screen will make it more attractive and productive to many.