The last few days have had one major technology story. Apple had a record breaking last quarter of 2011 and has shattered all expectations from financial analysts. The signs were all there but I don’t think anyone could have predicted just how big the numbers were going to be. Clue: They are massive and I think many technology boardrooms contained staff that were shocked with the results that Apple posted.
The Company sold 37.04 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 128 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 15.43 million iPads during the quarter, a 111 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 5.2 million Macs during the quarter, a 26 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 15.4 million iPods, a 21 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.
“We’re thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline.”
Apple has added $38 billion to their business in the last 12 months. Yes, I said billion. What is very interesting to note is that the iPhone is becoming more central to Apple’s success. Secondly, Tim Cook also mentioned during the Analyst call that iCloud has seen a high adoption rate.
I think Peter shared earlier the number of customers that had signed up for iCloud, and it’s already over 85 million, so it’s incredible that this has happened in just a few months’ period of time. We’re thrilled with it, and the response from customers has been incredible.
The digital hub (iTunes etc) was the value driver for Apple in the past 10 years. iCloud will become the central value driver for Apple in the next 10 years in my opinion. As an iCloud user I can say that in a space of a few months it has become a feature that I cannot live without. Couple iCloud with Dropbox and your files “follow you” on multiple devices without having to worry whether you saved it on this or that device… The results also highlight something interesting and it is that consumers are willing to pay a bit more for a premium device as long as it delivers on performance. I wonder whether this result was part of the legacy that Steve Jobs left for Apple Management as I guess the result would have made him smile and be very happy.
