iPod Touch is solid gold for Apple earnings
Today Apple announced record earnings of over $10 billion in the quarter ending Dec. 27 despite slumping iPhone sales. Apple’s continued growth is due in no small part wwto the wild popularity of the iPod Touch as a holiday gift choice.
CEO Steve Jobs was on hand during his leave of absence to deliver the good news. His presence was likely intended to bolster investor confidence after the news of his absence broke last week.
Apple’s revenue of $10.17 billion is up 5.9 percent from $9.6 billion during the same quarter last year. These sales translated into record revenue during the quarter of $1.61 billion.
Sales of the iPhone 3G fell off during the second quarter of the phone’s availability. Apple sold 4.36 million iPhones during the period down from 6.9 million units in the previous quarter.
iPhone 3G sales are just starting to slow down after a stronger than projected start. The 6.9 million units sold in its first quarter exceeded the total number of the initial iPhone’s 6.1 million units in five quarters.
Apple was one of few online retailers to eke out gains during the 2008 holiday shopping season. And there’s reason to believe that the increase can be attributed in large part to iPod Touch sales.
Popular online retailer Amazon listed the 8 GB and 16 GB iPod Touch models among its top sellers during the month of December. The most popular iPhone apps such as iFart Mobile also experienced a sudden spike in sales in the days following Christmas.
Another sign that the iPod Touch contributed to Apple’s strong holiday share is its share of online browsers. The percentage of web surfers browsing from an iPod Touch doubled on Christmas Day.
Apple’s outstanding performance heightens pressure on its executive team to live up to Jobs’ legend. Rumors abound as to whether the company will release an iPhone Nano or a Mac netbook, but the pressure to deliver another smash hit is very real.
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January 22nd, 2009
Seems like the iphone and ipod touch saved the day for apple. I think that they will be the odd man out when it hits the fan in july and everyone realizes that we are in this for the long haul
January 22nd, 2009
Talk about getting a lucky break, but it will be interesting to see how a Jobs-free Apple performs in the medium and longer term.
January 24th, 2009
I wouldn’t mind the Iphone but I recently bought a car with the Ipod Jack and the dame Iphone does not work with it. That just affected my purchase decission as it looks like I will go with the Ipod Touch instead. Which is fine as I did not want to switch carriers just to own a Iphone.