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Apple’s Bull Market: Where Are The Naysayer Bears?

Bull NataliaApple does it again with breakthrough revenue and earnings results for 2006.

More Macs, more iPods, more profits. Naysayers beware. You’re an endangered species.

It was just a year or so ago when media pundits and analysts said Apple was struggling; their projections for iPod sales showed flat or declining.

Others said the switch to Intel Macs caused slow downs in PPC orders. Even Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer said, “So what?”

Today Apple poured it on with results for 2006 at record numbers:

“The Company posted revenue of $4.84 billion and net quarterly profit of $546 million, or $.62 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $3.68 billion and net profit of $430 million, or $.50 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 29.2 percent, up from 28.1 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 40 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple shipped 1,610,000 Macintosh computers and 8,729,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 30 percent growth in Macs and 35 percent growth in iPods over the year-ago quarter.”

The facts speak for themselves.

Apple’s 2006 earnings and unit sales information, Q1-Q4:

• Q1 (ended 12/31/05): revenue of $5.75 billion, net quarterly profit of $565 million, 1.254 million Macs, 14.043 million iPods
• Q2 (ended 04/01/06): revenue of $4.36 billion, net quarterly profit of $410 million, 1.112 million Macs, 08.526 million iPods
• Q3 (ended 07/01/06): revenue of $4.37 billion, net quarterly profit of $472 million, 1.327 million Macs, 08.111 million iPods
• Q4 (ended 09/30/06): revenue of $4.84 billion, net quarterly profit of $546 million, 1.610 million Macs, 08.729 million iPods

The only blemish on the whole announcement was Apple reiterating their restatement warning, though most analysts believe any restatement would be modest. The restatement probability is related to the so-called stock options scandal.

Where are the naysayers? Where’s the bandwagon of pessimistic Apple haters who were certain that Mac sales were going down or stagnating?

Where are the iPod critics who said Apple’s iPod sales were leveling off, even declining?

The bandwagon has stopped, crashing on a rough road, and everyone has gotten off and headed for the woods.

Apple is roaring into the holiday season with a brand new line of iPods, new Macs of every flavor, and every click that can click is clicking.

Competition from Microsoft’s Zune? Don’t hold your breath. Problems with movies at the iTunes Store? Hardly.

iTunes Store runs an 85-percent market share.

How about those expensive Apple Stores? Record revenue total, per store, per square foot—60-percent growth.

Is there a cloud in Apple’s silver lining? I can’t see it, can you?

Click Here to see reader comments on this article in the Mac360 Forums.

Classy Mac360 PhotoBy Natalia Nowak | My husband, Nathan, and I have used Macs for 15 years. We're teachers at a private school in Chicago, IL. I'm also the school's resident Mac system administrator, PC troubleshooter, and a diehard Mac diva.

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