Investors bristle as Apple occludes iPhone unit sales data

“First Apple Inc took away the headphone jack on its iPhones. Then it took away the home button,” Stephen Nellis reports for Reuters. “And now, it has taken away a closely watched performance metric that it has disclosed to investors for 20 years.”
“The Cupertino, California-based company on Thursday said that it will stop reporting unit sales data for its iPhone, iPad and Mac computer products, the latter of which it has given out since 1998,” Nellis reports. “Apple said the data is less relevant to the strength of its business as customers bundle products, such as an iPhone paired with its wireless AirPods headphones, along with paid subscription services like Apple Music to listen to songs and iCloud storage for photos.”
“The move cost Apple dearly, helping to send shares down about 7 percent in after-hours trading. They later settled at $207.81, about 6.5 percent below their previous close,” Nellis reports. “Now, Apple will give cost-of-sales data for both its total product businesses and its total services business, which will let investors evaluate a gross margin for both. In the past, Apple gave only an overall gross margin figure for the company. The new numbers are important for two reasons. First, they will show just how lucrative Apple’s hardware business really is. But more importantly, for the first time they give margin information on Apple’s services business, which reached $10 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, up 17 percent.”
“Many of Apple’s fastest-growing businesses are subscription based, like its $9.99 a month Apple Music service,” Nellis reports. “And investors tend to value subscription business through a combination of their revenue growth rate and margins – information that Apple investors will now have, said Tien Tzuo, chief executive of Zuora Inc, a company that helps subscription businesses track their finances.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Could you panicky dummies bristle it down below $200, please? We’re backing up the truck.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s decision to stop reporting unit sales of iPhones, Macs, and iPads is a ‘defining moment’ – November 2, 2018
Apple to stop reporting iPhone, Mac, and iPad quarterly unit sales – November 1, 2018
Apple tumbles 7% after reporting record-breaking quarterly earnings – November 1, 2018
Apple beats Street with another record-breaking quarter – November 1, 2018