Apple announces MASSIVE profits

[liller]

Extraordinary levels of profits announced this morning, the biggest ever for any public company.

The amount of cash they are sitting on is reported to be enough to wipe out the UK's deficit - incredible when you actually contemplate what they could do with this surplus cash. Could they not do something for the greater good with this money?

Will there ever be another contender to this (smartphone) market? It seems like for any company to take on this level of consumer demand it would be an impossible task, with so many handset makers continually trying and failing it's a wonder more companies haven't given up.

[Grumfutock]

I wonder how long before they are forced to break up the company?

[liller]

I guess there will become a point when it will be considered to be a monopoly.

[Diderot]

liller said:

Extraordinary levels of profits announced this morning, the biggest ever for any public company.

The amount of cash they are sitting on is reported to be enough to wipe out the UK's deficit - incredible when you actually contemplate what they could do with this surplus cash. Could they not do something for the greater good with this money?

Will there ever be another contender to this (smartphone) market? It seems like for any company to take on this level of consumer demand it would be an impossible task, with so many handset makers continually trying and failing it's a wonder more companies haven't given up.

They already are, they pay tax. What more do you want from them?

[fido]

liller said:

The amount of cash they are sitting on is reported to be enough to wipe out the UK's deficit.

If they did wipe out the UK's deficit, i'm sure the next Labour government will piss it up the wall in no time ..

[liller]

Diderot said:

They already are, they pay tax. What more do you want from them?

I'm not suggesting that they aren't paying tax, I'm merely contemplating whether or not they could do something with that amount of cash. Me? I don't want anything from them, just opening a discussion.

[TKF]

liller said:

I guess there will become a point when it will be considered to be a monopoly.

Android phones sell massively more units than Apple.

[Asterix]

It's quite amazing given the size of their product portfolio.

[mattmurdock]

Big difference between profits and market share though. They are clearly not a monopoly, as during Q3 2014 they only had 11.7% of the global market share for smartphones (in comparison Samsung had over twice as much, 23.7%).

The reason they are making so much money is the profit they make per unit is nearly 40%. So they are happily selling to their niche of people who are willing to pay more for an Apple phone than they are for an equivalent Samsung phone.

[liller]

TKF said:

Android phones sell massively more units than Apple.

As they are all made by different manufacturers it wouldn't be considered a monopoly would it?

[liller]

mattmurdock said:

Big difference between profits and market share though. They are clearly not a monopoly, as during Q3 2014 they only had 11.7% of the global market share for smartphones (in comparison Samsung had over twice as much, 23.7%).

The reason they are making so much money is the profit they make per unit is nearly 40%. So they are happily selling to their niche of people who are willing to pay more for an Apple phone than they are for an equivalent Samsung phone.

Interesting to see these numbers and it certainly puts things into perspective. Do Samsung make a similar level of margin on their handsets?

[Sheepshanks]

I read the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is in some difficulty with its charitable status as it can't give money away fast enough.

[speedy_thrills]

One aspect that surprises me is they've continued to hold margin. I'd have expected the brand to wear thin as exclusivity declines, lower cost options (and there are many phones out there as good or better than an iPhone at much lower price points) and USD appreciation to work against margin.

Good work.

[Crush]

mattmurdock said:

Big difference between profits and market share though. They are clearly not a monopoly, as during Q3 2014 they only had 11.7% of the global market share for smartphones (in comparison Samsung had over twice as much, 23.7%).

The reason they are making so much money is the profit they make per unit is nearly 40%. So they are happily selling to their niche of people who are willing to pay more for an Apple phone than they are for an equivalent Samsung phone.

I also get the impression that Apple could produce phones and tablets in the shape of a penis and they'd still be bought by their fans

[Hooli]

liller said:

TKF said:

Android phones sell massively more units than Apple.

As they are all made by different manufacturers it wouldn't be considered a monopoly would it?

Didn't Windows get looked at as a monopoly? same thing really, one OS with a massive share of the market.

[RichTT]

TKF said:

Android phones sell massively more units than Apple.

Yes but how many manufacturers make Android phones? There's not many that sell more handsets individually than Apple.

That's not what bothers me about Apple. It's the price gouging, planned obsolescence and slave labor factories that remind me of Nike in the 90's.

That and they spend more on litigation than they do on R&D.

[Sarkmeister]

Hooli said:

Didn't Windows get looked at as a monopoly? same thing really, one OS with a massive share of the market.

The reason they were looked at was more due to the fact they forced IE on window's user wasnt it?

[slinky]

fido said:

If they did wipe out the UK's deficit, i'm sure the next Labour government will piss it up the wall in no time ..

EFA

[anonymous-user]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I also get the impression that Apple could produce phones and tablets in the shape of a penis and they'd still be bought by their fans

Absolutely. iSheep.

Hooli said:

Didn't Windows get looked at as a monopoly? same thing really, one OS with a massive share of the market.

Not sure about that, wasn't the issue the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows?

I think there is no doubt that for some people, their lives are improved by using Apple products. do you really doubt that? I mean, many parents, grandparents FaceTime across the world with their kids/grandkids, something you couldn't so easily do a few years ago. Easily transportable tablets and smartphones are also a big help.

Now if your saying that their lives could be similarly improved, or even more improved using other products, I wouldn't argue and there is definitively a case that many peoples lives are damaged by over reliance on these type of devices, whatever make.

[Eric Mc]

liller said:

I'm not suggesting that they aren't paying tax, I'm merely contemplating whether or not they could do something with that amount of cash. Me? I don't want anything from them, just opening a discussion.

Apparently, the corporation is structured in such a way that the tax they are paying is minimal. The vast bulk of the profits is sitting in tax haven registered companies and is causing a massive problem regarding being able to pay dividends to the company shareholders. That is the main reason why they are sitting on a cash mountain.

At the moment, the only way shareholders are getting any sort of return on the investment they have made in Apple is for the company to BORROW money so they can buy back some of the shares from the shareholders. This keeps the profits "safe" in the tax haven company whilst the US company is amassing debt.

Watch this space to see how this all eventually pans out. You could have the US company collapse under a debt burden in its efforts to NOT pay tax.