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Apple Stays Fresh
To Keep in Lead
Each year, Apple Inc. sweeps out its old line of gadgets to make room for an even spiffier group of products for the holidays. And, each year around this time, Apple rivals and others dumbfounded by its multiyear winning streak in the electronics business wonder whether this is the holiday season when the company will finally stumble.
Don't bet on it. This Monday, Apple will offer the first hint of how its computers, iPods and new iPhones are likely to perform during the crucial holiday shopping season when it reports its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended late September. The earnings will include the first sales results from a new family of iPods and the iPhone's first full quarter of sales.
Keeping its iPods fresh in a market that seems increasingly saturated with devices is something of a high-wire act for Apple. The Cupertino, Calif., company introduced the iPod in late 2001 and has sold more than 110 million of the digital music players, holding its share of the U.S. market steady at more than 70% despite an array of rivals including Microsoft Corp.
In early September, Apple dumped its old iPod nano, the skinny device that was its best-selling music player, replacing it with a chubbier model -- Apple fans quickly nicknamed it the "fatboy" nano -- that plays video. It also ripped the cellphone and other features out of the iPhone to create the new iPod touch with its large touch-sensitive screen.
Early signs suggest the new iPods are a hit. "They had just a tremendous September," says Tony Berkman, an analyst for Majestic Research, a financial-research firm that uses Internet sales figures from various sources to determine a company's overall performance.
In a potential red flag for the current holiday quarter, Mr. Berkman said Majestic's research shows iPods sales slowed considerably in the first two weeks in October. But he says it's tough to read deeply into what that means. Apple will likely give a sign of its confidence when it provides financial forecasts for the current quarter, which ends in late December.
The iPhone appears to be selling well, too, especially after Apple dropped the price by $200 to $399 in early September. Analysts believe Apple will report about one million iPhones sold in the quarter ended late September, on top of the 270,000 they sold in the 30 hours it was available during the prior quarter.
Much hinges on the iPhone, a potentially huge new category for Apple. The company's shares are up approximately 25% since its last earnings report in late July, based on optimism over new products like the iPhone. Chief Executive Steve Jobs has predicted Apple will sell 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008, giving it 1% of the cellphone market.
Based on sales so far, and the high probability of new iPhone models from Apple next year, Mr. Berkman says it isn't a stretch for them to meet that goal.
To Keep in Lead
Each year, Apple Inc. sweeps out its old line of gadgets to make room for an even spiffier group of products for the holidays. And, each year around this time, Apple rivals and others dumbfounded by its multiyear winning streak in the electronics business wonder whether this is the holiday season when the company will finally stumble.
Don't bet on it. This Monday, Apple will offer the first hint of how its computers, iPods and new iPhones are likely to perform during the crucial holiday shopping season when it reports its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended late September. The earnings will include the first sales results from a new family of iPods and the iPhone's first full quarter of sales.
Keeping its iPods fresh in a market that seems increasingly saturated with devices is something of a high-wire act for Apple. The Cupertino, Calif., company introduced the iPod in late 2001 and has sold more than 110 million of the digital music players, holding its share of the U.S. market steady at more than 70% despite an array of rivals including Microsoft Corp.
In early September, Apple dumped its old iPod nano, the skinny device that was its best-selling music player, replacing it with a chubbier model -- Apple fans quickly nicknamed it the "fatboy" nano -- that plays video. It also ripped the cellphone and other features out of the iPhone to create the new iPod touch with its large touch-sensitive screen.
Early signs suggest the new iPods are a hit. "They had just a tremendous September," says Tony Berkman, an analyst for Majestic Research, a financial-research firm that uses Internet sales figures from various sources to determine a company's overall performance.
In a potential red flag for the current holiday quarter, Mr. Berkman said Majestic's research shows iPods sales slowed considerably in the first two weeks in October. But he says it's tough to read deeply into what that means. Apple will likely give a sign of its confidence when it provides financial forecasts for the current quarter, which ends in late December.
The iPhone appears to be selling well, too, especially after Apple dropped the price by $200 to $399 in early September. Analysts believe Apple will report about one million iPhones sold in the quarter ended late September, on top of the 270,000 they sold in the 30 hours it was available during the prior quarter.
Much hinges on the iPhone, a potentially huge new category for Apple. The company's shares are up approximately 25% since its last earnings report in late July, based on optimism over new products like the iPhone. Chief Executive Steve Jobs has predicted Apple will sell 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008, giving it 1% of the cellphone market.
Based on sales so far, and the high probability of new iPhone models from Apple next year, Mr. Berkman says it isn't a stretch for them to meet that goal.
