A daily digest of IT news, curated from blogs, forums and news sites around the web each morning. We highlight the key commentary and demystify the real story.
Apple did much better than the rumors predicted for its Q4 results. The pomaceous peddler of fashionable portable-computers-that-sometimes-make-phone-calls (NASDAQ:AAPL) surprised Wall Street with record numbers. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers try to put it all in context.
Your humble blogwatcher (@richi ) curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: An Open Letter to Nickelodeon, Re: SpongeBob's Pineapple under the Sea...
Gregg Keizer reports "smashed sales records":
The quarter's revenue [was] $46.3 billion. .. Sales rose by 73%..net profit [was] $13 billion..more than double [year on year].
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The quarter was fueled by a huge jump in sales of the iPhone..nearly 53% of Apple's revenue. .. 37 million iPhones, 82% more than the previous record..[but] Wall Street's estimate..had settled around 32 million. .. Demand for the iPhone 4S..continued to outstrip supply. .. iPad sales also set a record..15.4 million..up 111%.
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Apple sold 5.2 million Macs, beating the previous record of 4.9 million..26% more [year on year]. .. However, Macs still account for a small percentage of total personal computer sales.
Rik Myslewski adds:
Sales and profits were significantly above what the Wall Street moneymen had expected. .. Analysts polled by FactSet Research..predicted revenues of $39bn.
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We can only assume that..maybe some of those Wall Street analysts might need to start looking for new [jobs].
MG Siegler writes rude words:
Holy ****.
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[The] stock [is] up 10% now in after-hours trading..pushing Apples market cap well past $400 billion. Apple now has $97.6 billion in cash.
David Goldman contextualizes:
Apple's market cap is higher than the gross domestic product of Greece, Austria, Argentina, or South Africa..a stunning achievement for a 35-year old company that had a market cap of just $10 billion [in 2002].
And Hillel Fuld has nothing to add... err except this:
I felt like I could not possibly add anything here to what has already been said..but on the other hand, how could I not? .. [T]hese numbers are by all standards, outrageous!
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Apple sold..412k iPhones per day. Compare that to 371k people born around the world every day.
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Apple generated..$13.06 of quarterly profit. .. That is more money than all of Googles revenue, which stands at $10.6 billion.
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Samsung, which was previously the worlds leading smartphone manufacturer sold 35 million..in the quarter..Apple sold 37 million iPhones.
