It is being reported that at the start of its next financial year, Apple will stop reporting unit sales for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Does Apple have something to hide or is it a smart business move?
Something to hide or a smart business move?
- Thread starter Just_Me_D
- Start date
Ecm
Well-known member
I believe it's both. I believe Apple wants to avoid discussing sales-per-device (such as the lower than expected Xr initial sales) and just discuss the overall profitablity. So, I think I'd class that as a smart business decision. Apple will keep making money hand-over-fist, and it's really the bottom line that concerns investors. From their standpoint, all is well.
Annie_M
Moderator
My reaction to your question can be described as slightly uncomfortable. Overall, I think it's probably a smart business move. I don't think that "not reporting" is the same thing as hiding, but it's definitely not transparent!
Its a smart move... the devices they sell has nothing to do with how the company is doing. If they sell 1 phone and 999,999,998 Watches they are still doing AOK ??????
How many people who do not hang out in tech forums truly care about how many devices Apple sell?
phlamethrowre
Well-known member
Apple is an evil company. Here are a few reasons why:
1. They now hide the number of devices sold to cover up the fact that their profits don't come from many devices sold but rather from expensive devices sold
2. Don't allow the user to repaint heir own device
3. The 'genius' bar employees encourage you to buy a new device by quoting exorbitant amounts for repair
But they do make a damn good product and I have iphone, airpods and ipad and love using them. Damn Apple, you're frustrating...love your products but hate your business practices
1. They now hide the number of devices sold to cover up the fact that their profits don't come from many devices sold but rather from expensive devices sold
2. Don't allow the user to repaint heir own device
3. The 'genius' bar employees encourage you to buy a new device by quoting exorbitant amounts for repair
But they do make a damn good product and I have iphone, airpods and ipad and love using them. Damn Apple, you're frustrating...love your products but hate your business practices
Quis89
Ambassador
Apple is an evil company. Here are a few reasons why:
1. They now hide the number of devices sold to cover up the fact that their profits don't come from many devices sold but rather from expensive devices sold
2. Don't allow the user to repaint heir own device
3. The 'genius' bar employees encourage you to buy a new device by quoting exorbitant amounts for repair
But they do make a damn good product and I have iphone, airpods and ipad and love using them. Damn Apple, you're frustrating...love your products but hate your business practices
Eh....not sure I completely agree here.
1. They simply aren't disclosing unit numbers to shareholders. Shareholders don't care HOW Apple gets their money. They just want to know Apple is performing well. Apple is moving towards a seemingly more services oriented company. I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years, their primary profit came from services rather than hardware. As such, unit sales from hardware aren't as important. Especially if the hardware is used as a gateway to get customers wrapped into their services.
2. Not allowing customers to repaint their devices makes them evil? That's a reach.
3. This is anecdotal. There are many people who have had wonderful experiences with Genius reps. Myself included. I've never been encouraged to spend outrageous amounts on repair pushing me to upgrade. In fact, I've never even paid for a repair at Apple. Of course, I have AppleCare+. But Apple is pretty transparent about their repair fees and you always have the option to purchase insurance in some form.
Evil is a strong word when business is business. Apple isn't very much different from any other for-profit company.
Lee_Bo
Well-known member
Doesn't really bother me at all. I can still see how my stocks are doing and decide when/if I want to get out.
Evil? Wow!
Is Samsung and other companies who opt not to disclose the exact number of devices it sells hiding something? Could it be that people outside of Apple deciding that if they don’t sell a certain number of devices then they’re somehow losing customers or have somehow failed be a factor?
You can do whatever you want with the device you purchased. Some people opt to purposely damage it via drop tests. Others opt to jailbreak so certainly you can paint yours whatever color you like. It’ll just void the warranty. That’s all.
Apple is pretty upfront about their repairs, in my experience. If you don’t have Apple Care + then you are taking a risk of having to fork over more than $120 for a repair. Is it not the same with cars, large appliances, etcetera?
Business 101 - people are in business to offer a product or service at a profit.But they do make a damn good product and I have iphone, airpods and ipad and love using them. Damn Apple, you're frustrating...love your products but hate your business practices
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Ledsteplin
Ambassador
It's hard to guess why they did that. Maybe they're just tired of the "Apple is doomed" reporting on sales figures. It happens every year, yet Apple continues to do very well.
Ecm
Well-known member
Aside from those in the industry and tech forums? Very few. And that very few out of the millions of users. Aside from the minor fluff with analysts, this will mostly go away and be forgotten in a few days. It may pop up when a writer wants to make a jab at Apple one in a while, though -- just like Samsung and the Note 7 battery problem.
Mr Segundus
Well-known member
They're not selling as well and that's why Apple isn't releasing iPhone sales figures. I mean, who wants to pay $1,100 for a cell phone? If they were selling well, Apple would let everyone know they're selling well.
I think the financial sector and shareholders care more than most for obvious reasons. Being transparent about how a company makes money is an important component of the investment decision making process.
Should it matter to people who don’t have a vested interest..? Not really. But if you’re managing money for say a pension fund, you probably want the company to be as forthcoming as possible.
Should it matter to people who don’t have a vested interest..? Not really. But if you’re managing money for say a pension fund, you probably want the company to be as forthcoming as possible.
Not disclosing unit sales is not at all uncommon among publicly traded companies and is certainly not required in SEC filings. Apple—just like any other for-profit corporation—wants to create a positive image in its quarterly earnings. You can call them “evil” for doing so but they’re among the majority. Furthermore, unit sales are extremely subjective. A billion iPhones sold means nothing if they didn’t make any money off of them.
Stakeholders care about future revenues way more than anything else. As an Apple stockholder myself, I’m much more interested in how much money they’re making from all of their revenue sources, not just how many iPhones, iPads, Macs, etc. they sold.
Stakeholders care about future revenues way more than anything else. As an Apple stockholder myself, I’m much more interested in how much money they’re making from all of their revenue sources, not just how many iPhones, iPads, Macs, etc. they sold.
Well said. Let's face it, most stockholders have no idea whether a billion or 10 billion iPhone sold is good. The bottom line is profits. This is a fan forum so people get all caught up in these numbers. How long has it been now that we've seen reports that Apple may be in trouble because of this estimation of that number? It doesn't mean a darn thing. The bottom line is what matters.
At least as far back as the iPhone 4S, and that’s been 7 years ago....
And somehow they're still barely holding on.
Tartarus
Ambassador
And somehow they're still barely holding on.
Once upon a time they were a trillion dollar company. Not anymore.
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