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_Dear Friends,_
It is Fantasy Fest week here in Key West so you never know what you might run into on the streets. We’ve been sticking close to home, though, as my Cubbies are in the World Series and that takes precedence over all other fun.
Apple held their latest product announcement on Thursday and as expected, revealed new MacBook Pros. Emily will talk about the new Macs and the Touch Bar but Apple also talked about their new TV App. It looks very handy in terms of finding content. I have been moving away from getting my content from traditional cable or satellite and find now that about 60% is from Apple TV. Of course, the screwy way that they manage some of these apps means I need a cable or satellite connection to qualify for the apps.
There is so much content out there now that it is hard to find what you are looking for. With the new TV app coming in December it looks like it will be much easier. I like that it is integrated with the Siri Remote so you can just ask to “see the news” or “watch the Celtics game”. I hate it when Apple announces stuff and makes me wait.
This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive features the iPad Pro 9.7-inch 32GB Wi-Fi in Gold. We are bundling this with the Apple Pencil and AppleCare Plus for the special price of only **$749.99!** “**That’s $50 off for Kibbles & Bytes readers!**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002451
This is shaping up to be a memorable weekend. The Cubs play the first three games of a World Series at Wrigley Field in 71 years. Try as I might, I did not score tickets and it hurt that a high school classmate of mine posted on Facebook that he was going to the game tonight in the front row! Well, I’ll be cheering the Cubs right here with Grace and we watch history unfold.
Thanks for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!
_Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,_
Don, Emily, Hadley & Amy
Apple by a Nose
Apple posted their quarterly and annual financial statements on Tuesday. It was the first year-over-year loss in several years but everyone knew that was coming since sales have been lower all year. Nevertheless, Apple had a good quarter beating the analysts’ estimate on Earnings per Share (EPS) by a couple cents.
Perhaps the biggest highlight and news from the financial reports was that the “Services” category grew by over 24% to a record $6.3 Billion. Let’s put that in some perspective. If the services part of Apple was a separate company it would be in the Fortune 100. Services generated more revenue than Macs and more revenue than iPads. I remember well when Apple’s aspiration was to be a $5 Billion company and they are doing that with Services alone and it is growing rapidly.
That was pretty much the only area growing. They sold fewer Macs although 4.9 million Macs ain’t too shabby. They sold fewer iPads despite the popular iPad Pro being in the mix for much of the year. iPhone sales were down but a bit higher than the analysts expected at 45.5 million sold. Tim Cook did indicate that in 33 of their 40 markets, iPhone sales did increase. He mentioned India in particular where iPhone sales increased by over 50% year-over-year.
Apple did, however, predict that this next quarter, the holiday quarter, would be strong and return Apple to growth numbers. They projected revenue between $76 billion and $78 billion, gross margin between 38 percent and 38.5 percent, operating expenses between $6.9 billion and $7 billion, other income/(expense) of $400 million and a tax rate of 26 percent. This is very strong guidance.
Apple continues to have a huge bankroll with over $237 Billion in cash and marketable securities available and they returned over $9 Billion to shareholders in dividends and share re-purchases.
There is no resting on their laurels at Apple, either. R & D spending for FY 2016 exceeded $10 Billion for the first time and Tim Cook said, once again, that the product pipeline is exceptionally strong.
Another great quarter for the most amazing business story. Congratulations to the Apple team!