Showing posts with label AAPL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AAPL. Show all posts

18 January 2011

AAPL: Income Statement Analysis for the December 2010 Quarter

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) earned $6.43 per diluted share on a GAAP basis in the December-ending first quarter of fiscal 2011, up an astonishing 75 percent from $3.67 in the same three months of 2009.

This post examines Apple's Income Statement for the quarter. 

The results were overshadowed to some extent by the announcement CEO Steve Jobs, the leader of the Apple cult, would take a third medical leave of absence.

Reported earnings were $1.63 per share (34 percent) greater than Apple's guidance of $4.80.  Please note we did not issue our normal "look-ahead" estimates because detailed projections are available from the many professional and amateur analysts that follow Apple's every move.  (Andy Zaky's Bullish Cross is one excellent example.)


The principal sources for this income statement analysis were the earnings announcement, the accompanying data sheet, and the ensuing conference call with analysts (transcript made available by Seeking Alpha).

In a second article, we will report Apple's scores as measured by the GCFR financial gauges.  The follow-up post will also provide the latest figures for the various financial metrics we use to analyze Cash Management, Growth, Profitability and Value.


Before getting into the details, we will take a step back to introduce the subject of today's analysis.

Apple Inc. has been recognized by Fortune as the world's most admired company for the last three years.  It is known for elegant product design, innovation, customer loyalty, brand-building marketing, and secrecy.

A soaring stock price has elevated Apple's market value to almost $320 billion, on a fully diluted basis, making Apple the second-most valuable U.S. company.  Only Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) is worth more.

In fiscal 2010, which ended in September, Apple earned $14.0 billion ($15.15 per diluted share) on sales of $65.2 billion.  Earnings in fiscal 2009 were $8.2 billion ($9.08 per share) on sales of $42.9 billion.

18 October 2010

AAPL: Income Statement Analysis for the September 2010 Quarter

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) earned $4.64 per diluted share in fiscal 2010's fourth quarter, which ended on 25 September.  Earnings per share were nearly 70 percent more than the $2.77 Apple made in the same quarter of 2009.

This post examines Apple's Income Statement for the latest quarter.  We did not issue "look-ahead" estimates because well-researched projections are available from a host of analysts.

The principal sources for this income statement analysis were the earnings announcement, the accompanying data sheet, and the conference call with analysts (transcript made available by Seeking Alpha).

In a second article, we will report Apple's scores as measured by the GCFR financial gauges.  The follow-up post will also provide the latest figures for the various financial metrics we use to analyze Cash Management, Growth, Profitability and Value.


Before getting into the details, we will take a step back to introduce the subject of today's analysis.

Apple Inc. has been recognized by Fortune as the world's most admired company for the last three years.  It is known for elegant product design, innovation, customer loyalty, secrecy, and the cult-like status afforded CEO (and savior) Steve Jobs.

20 July 2010

AAPL: Income Statement Analysis for the June 2010 Quarter

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) earned $3.51 per diluted share in fiscal 2010's third quarter, which ended on 26 June.  This EPS amount beat by 74 percent the $2.01 Apple made in the same quarter of 2009.

This post examines Apple's Income Statement for the latest quarter.  We did not issue "look-ahead" estimates because readers can spend their time more productively by following the well-researched projections of Apple experts such as Turley Muller and Andy Zaky.

The principal sources for this review were the earnings announcement, the accompanying data sheet, and the conference call with analysts (transcript made available by Seeking Alpha).

In a second article, we will report Apple's scores as measured by the GCFR financial gauges.  The follow-up post will also provide the latest figures for the various financial metrics we use to analyze Cash Management, Growth, Profitability and Value.


Before getting into the details, we will take a step back to introduce the subject of today's analysis.

Apple Inc. has been recognized by Fortune as the world's most admired company for the last three years.  It is known for elegant product design, innovation, customer loyalty, secrecy, and the cult-like status afforded CEO (and savior) Steve Jobs.

It sells Macintosh® desktop and laptop computers, iPhone™ portable devices, iPad tablet computers, iPod® music and video players, operating system software (including OS X and iOS), software applications and Apps, digital entertainment, and various accessories.

The iPad launched on 3 April 2010, so the June quarter was the first to include sales of this widely anticipated item.

20 April 2010

AAPL: Income Statement Analysis for the March 2010 Quarter

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported earnings of $3.33 per diluted share in the second quarter of fiscal 2010, which ended on 27 March.  Earnings rose an extraordinary 86 percent above the $1.79 Apple made in the same quarter of 2009.

This post examines Apple's Income Statement for the latest quarter and compares the entries on each line to our "look-ahead" estimates.  Reported earnings exceeded the $2.36 per share we had forecast by a humbling $0.97.

The principal sources for this review were the earnings announcement and the conference call with analysts (transcript made available by Seeking Alpha).

In a second article, we will report Apple's scores as measured by the GCFR financial gauges.  The follow-up post will also provide the latest figures for the various financial metrics we use to analyze Cash Management, Growth, Profitability and Value.


Apple Inc. has been recognized by Fortune as the world's most admired company for the last three years.  The company is known for elegant product design, innovation, customer loyalty, secrecy, and the cult-like status afforded CEO (and savior) Steve Jobs.  Additional background information about Apple and the business environment in which it is currently operating can be found in the beginning of the look-ahead.

In fiscal 2010, Apple changed from subscription accounting of iPhone (and the less important Apple TV) sales that required revenues and costs to be spread over each delivered item's estimated two-year economic life.  The company now, in compliance with the latest standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, recognizes "substantially all" revenue and costs when a product is sold to a consumer.  Apple has restated earlier results to conform to current accounting principles. 

Please click here to see a full-sized, normalized depiction of the actual results for the just-concluded quarter, as well as the restated quarterly Income Statements for the last couple of years.  Please note that our organization of revenues, expenses, gains, and losses, which we use for all analyses, can and often does differ in material respects from company-used formats.  The standardization facilitates cross-company comparisons.

08 April 2010

AAPL: Look Ahead to March 2010 Quarterly Results

This post describes our model of Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) Income Statement for the second quarter of fiscal 2010, which ended on 27 March.

The purpose of the model is to establish a baseline for identifying surprises, positive or negative, in the quarterly results the company will report on 20 April 2010.  Estimates for each line of the Income Statement are derived from management's guidance, the company's historical financial results, and other publicly available data.

There are an extraordinary number of analysts, both amateurs and professionals, that dig into every aspect of Apple's product line and its finances.  For this post, we have tapped into many information sources and synthesized the information as best we could. Readers won't have any difficulty finding more authoritative information about Apple.

We begin by reviewing background information about Apple and the business environment in which it is currently operating.

09 February 2010

AAPL: Financial Gauge Analysis for the December 2009 Quarter

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) earned $3.67 per diluted share in the quarter that ended 26 December 2009, which was the first quarter of the company's fiscal 2010.  Earnings increased from a restated $2.50 per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2009.

This post provides updated Cash Management, Growth, Profitability and Value metrics and our financial gauge scores for Apple.  The metrics were calculated using data in Apple's most recent 10-Q, the company's earlier financial reports, and its restated financial statements for the last three fiscal years.

We have already examined Apple's Income Statement for the December 2009 quarter.

25 January 2010

AAPL: Income Statement Analysis for the December 2009 Quarter

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported earnings of $3.67 per diluted share in the quarter that ended 26 December 2009, which was the first quarter of Apple's fiscal 2010. 

In this quarter, Apple revised, in a very substantial way, how it accounts for Revenue due to sales of the iPhone (and the less important Apple TV).  This change, which complies with
the latest standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, enables Apple to recognize "substantially all" iPhone and Apple TV Revenue in the period that the sale to a consumer took place.  Apple had been required to recognize Revenue from these products over each product's two-year estimated economic life.  This "subscription accounting" method resulted in substantial amounts of deferred Revenue and costs, reducing the reported values for each.

Apple restated its results (required for "retrospective adoption") for each quarter of fiscal 2007, 2008, and 2009 to be consistent with the latest, non-subscription approach.  For example, earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 (quarter ending December 2008) were revised from $1.78 per share to $2.50 per share. 

It would have been helpful if Apple had also provided before-and-after data for the December 2009 quarter, but the results for the latest period were only prepared in accordance with the new accounting principles.  Therefore, the latest results cannot easily be compared with analyst estimates, or even our own "look-ahead" estimates, because most analysts assumed the continued use of subscription accounting.

This post examines Apple's Income Statement for the latest quarter.  The principal sources for the analysis were the  earnings announcement, the formal 10-Q report, and the transcript (available from Seeking Alpha) from the conference call.  We used the restated data provided by Apple for all historical results.

15 January 2010

AAPL: Look Ahead to December 2009 Quarterly Results

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) earned $1.82 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, which ended on 26 September, up from $1.26 in the same quarter of the previous year.

In October, we examined Apple's Income Statement for the September quarter.  We later performed a financial gauge analysis of Apple, which produced a GCFR Overall gauge score of 41 of the 100 possible points.  A subsequent adjustment in how scores are calculated increased the figure to 45 points.

Despite blowout earnings in the September quarter, the score remained modest because iPhone accounting negatively affected certain Balance Sheet ratios, some growth rates were not as robust as in the previous year, and a soaring share price pressured the Value gauge.

We have now modeled Apple's Income Statement for fiscal 2010's first quarter, which ended on 26 December 2009.  The intent of this exercise was to produce a baseline for identifying deviations, positive or negative, in the actual data the company will announce on 25 January.  GCFR estimates are derived from trends in the historical financial results and guidance provided by company management.

Let's be clear: There are an extraordinary number of sources of information about Apple, its business, and its finances.  Professional and amateur analysts compete to predict the company's earnings.  We lack that in-depth company-specific expertise.  We have tapped what sources we could find, and synthesized the information as best we could, but readers won't have any difficulty finding more complete and authoritative information about Apple.

21 October 2009

AAPL: Financial Gauge Analysis for the September 2009 Quarter

In a previous article, we examined Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) Income Statement for the quarter that ended 26 September, which was the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.  Apple's quarterly earnings increased from $1.26 to $1.82 per diluted share. 

Using the financial statements in Apple's earnings announcement, we have now updated a set of Cash Management, Growth, Profitability and Value metrics.  This post reports on the metrics and the associated financial gauge scores.

In summary, Apple's latest quarterly results has produced the following changes to the gauge scores:
  • Overall: 41 of 100 (down from 48)

We were certainly surprised that the scores fell after a clearly spectacular quarter.  The reasons why are discussed below with the financial metrics that determine the gauge scores.

If necessary, we will adjust the gauge scores after Apple files a 10-K report with the SEC.

19 October 2009

AAPL: Income Statement Analysis for the September 2009 Quarter

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) earned $1.82 per diluted share in the quarter that ended 26 September, which was the fourth quarter of Apple's fiscal 2009.  This result far surpassed the $1.26 earned last year and recent estimates of $1.42 to $1.44

This post examines the Income Statement for the quarter and compares the entries on each line with guidance provided by Apple after the June quarter.  We did not write a look-ahead post prior to the release of the earnings announcement.

29 July 2009

AAPL: Gross Margin Exposition

The Financial Alchemist recently explained why Apple's Gross Margin should be a healthy 36 to 38 percent in the current quarter, significantly above management's guidance.

He adds:
iPhone contributes an equal amount to EPS as does the Mac segment, and will surpass Mac's EPS contribution in the quarters going forward.

22 July 2009

AAPL: Gauge Scores for the June 2009 Quarter

In a recent post, we examined Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) Income Statement for the quarter that ended 27 June 2009.  Surpassing most predictions, Apple's earnings increased from $1.19 to $1.35 per diluted share. 

We have since used Apple's latest financial statements to update the ratios and other metrics with which we assess Cash Management, Growth, Profitability and Value.  This post reports on our analysis results, including the Financial Gauge scores.

In summary, Apple's GCFR gauge scores are as follows:

  • Overall: 48 of 100 (down from 60)

The rest of this post reviews the financial metrics that determine the gauge scores.

Cash ManagementJun 2009Mar 2009Jun 20085-Yr Avg
Current Ratio2.12.53.02.6
LTD/Equity0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%
Debt/CFO (years)0.00.00.00.0
Inventory/CGS (days)7.65.67.26.1
Finished Goods/InventoryN/AN/AN/AN/A
Days of Sales Outstanding (days)22.619.117.921.7
Working Capital/Invested Capital (*)
71.5%82.7%95.7%86.7%
Cash Conversion Cycle Time (days)-40.2-43.3-40.0-42.9
Gauge Score (0 to 25)13141716
* For Apple we use Shareholder's Equity instead of Invested Capital

Apple's strong Balance Sheet features zero debt and $24 billion in Cash and Short-term InvestmentsCurrent Liabilities have leaped substantially, which reduces the Current Ratio shown above.  However, Deferred Revenue is responsible for the lion's share of additional liabilities, and this is due to the subscription accounting -- explained clearly by Andy Zaky at Bullish Cross -- used by Apple for sales of the iPhone and some other products. 

The days of Inventory held, which is amazingly low, has inched up a little.

There are a few ways to calculate Invested Capital, and the equation we use is:

    Invested Capital = Shareholders' Equity + Debt - Cash - Short-Term Investments

In many recent quarters, this equation has produces a negative number for Apple, although it is now modestly positive.  To avoid this difficulty, we substitute Equity for Invested Capital.  Changes from quarter to quarter are more important to us than the absolute figure for Capital, but we would be interested to learn how others calculate Apple's Invested Capital.

Although the concept of negative days in the Cash Conversion Cycle Time might be a little troubling, we accept it with the belief that lower numbers (or more negative numbers) cannot help but indicate better cash management efficiency.


GrowthJun 2009Mar 2009Jun 20085-Yr Avg
Revenue growth12.2%17.2%36.1%29.8%
Revenue/Assets86.6%91.4%115.5%121.9%
Operating Profit growth46.3%48.1%71.8%59.3%
CFO growth62.1%50.6%44.9%71.5%
Net Income growth12.5%15.4%46.8%62.5%
Gauge Score (0 to 25)10111416
Revenue, CFO, and Net Income growth rates compare the last four quarters to the four previous quarters.
The Operating Profit rate is the annualized rate of growth in
Operating Profit after Taxes over the last 16 quarters.

While Apple's growth rates have started to moderate from last year's red-hot pace, they remain impressive -- especially so given current economic conditions.  Apple's focus on the consumer has paid dividends, and IT spending by businesses has been weaker.


ProfitabilityJun 2009Mar 2009Jun 20085-Yr Avg
Operating Expenses/Revenue80.0%80.3%80.9%84.0%
ROIC (*)
21.4%22.1%25.1%21.4%
Free Cash Flow/Invested Capital (*)
45.1%43.7%37.0%33.8%
Accrual Ratio19.7%23.8%10.7%9.9%
Gauge Score (0 to 25)13131816
* For Apple we use Shareholder's Equity instead of Invested Capital

We're impressed with Apple's success at keeping its costs down and margin high.  The returns (income and cash flow) on Equity are superb.  The Accrual Ratio is oddly high, which would ordinarily raise a concern about earnings quality.  However, this appears to be an artifact of the a change, put into effect during the December 2008 quarter, in how the company accounts for fixed income securities.


ValueJun 2009Mar 2009Jun 20085-Yr Avg
P/E25.018.932.933.6
P/E vs. S&P 500 P/E 1.11.01.82.0
PEG0.50.40.50.3
Price/Revenue3.72.84.93.6
Enterprise Value/Cash Flow (EV/CFO)9.36.718.616.0
Gauge Score (0 to 25)111838

Apple's share price skyrocketed from $105 to $142 during the second quarter of 2009, and this increase put a lot of downward pressure on the Value gauge.  However, the company's fine operating performance kept the score from declining further.  When compared to the last five years, some figures suggest the company's shares have become less expensive.


OverallJun 2009Mar 2009Jun 20085-Yr Avg
Gauge Score (0 to 100)48604652

This is the first GCFR gauge analysis of Apple.  The company's results in the June quarter did not have much of an effect on three of the four category gauges.  The Value gauge, however, sagged in response to the soaring price of Apple's common shares.  The drop in this gauge, which is double-weighted, was responsible for most of the Overall Gauge's decline.

If the shares were undervalued earlier in the year, which would seem to have been the case given the healthy (but retroactive) 60-point score and the subsequent Spring rally, our gauges are signaling that the shares are less undervalued even after the better-than-expected quarter.


Full disclosure: No position in AAPL at time of writing.

21 July 2009

AAPL: Income Statement Analysis for the June 2009 Quarter

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) earned $1.35 per diluted share in the quarter that ended 27 June 2009, surpassing most predictions and up from $1.19 last year.  This period was the third quarter of Apple's fiscal year, which ends in September.

Earlier today, the Apple 2.0 blog summarized the pre-announcement expectations of professional and amateur analysts:

The consensus, as reported by Thomson Financial, has been inching up and stands this morning at $1.17 earnings per share on revenue of $8.2 billion. As usual, the unaffiliated analysts — a ragtag group of bloggers, day traders and amateur analysts who track the stock as closely, if not more so, than the professionals — are considerably more bullish, predicting earnings in the $1.27 – $1.35 range.

[emphasis added]


This post, which is our first on Apple, takes a peek at the company's latest Income Statement.  In a second article, we will report Apple's scores as measured by the GCFR Financial Gauges.  The follow-up post will provide the latest figures for the various financial metrics we use to analyze Cash Management, Growth, Profitability and Value.

For the benefit of any Luddites that might stumble onto a hardcopy of this post, we will note that Apple Inc., according to the company's last 10-K,  is in business to:

... design, manufacture, and market personal computers, portable digital music players, and mobile communication devices and sell a variety of related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. ...

In addition, the Company sells a variety of third-party Macintosh® (“Mac”), iPod® and iPhone™ compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and various other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores, and digital content through the iTunes Store®.


The company is known for elegant product design, innovation, the loyalty of its customers, and the cult-like status afforded cofounder, CEO, and savior) Steve Jobs.

Apple is one of the top-five seller of personal computers in the U.S.  Figures from different industry analysts are inconsistent, but Chris Foresman at ars technica has done a good job sorting out the most-recent market share numbers.


Please click here to see a full-sized, normalized depiction of the actual results for the just-concluded quarter, as well as the quarterly Income Statements for the last couple of years.  Please note that our organization of revenues, expenses, gains, and losses, which we use for all analyses, can and often does differ in material respects from company-used formats.  The standardization facilitates cross-company comparisons.






Apple's Revenue in the June quarter was 11.7 percent more than last year, and it was up 2.1 percent from the March 2009 period.  Revenue from Macintosh desktops and portables fell 7.8 percent from June 2008, even though 13 percent more portables were sold (at lower average prices).   The Mac product mix tilted toward lower-price models due to the effect of the weak economy on businesses.

iPhones were the real star of the quarter, contributing 300 percent more to Revenue than in the comparable period last year.  iPhones were responsible for 20 percent of total Revenue in the most recent quarter.  Sales might have been even higher if supplies had not been constrained.

Revenue growth was especially strong in Europe, where sales increased 22 percent from last year's June quarter.

The Cost of Goods Sold was 63.7 percent of Revenue in the quarter, which translates into a Gross Margin of 36.3 percent, up from 34.8 percent in June 2008.  The Gross Margin exceeded prior guidance from Apple, and it was consistent with the 35 to 37 percent range cited by the more optimistic followers of the the company. 

Evidently, the lucrative iPhone more than makes up for both declining margins (after recent price cuts) on Apple's other products and rising component costs.

A nice article on predicting Apple's Gross Margin, which cites the deservedly well-respected Financial Alchemist, can be found here.

Research and Development (R&D) expenses were 4.1 percent of Revenue, which was a bit more than the 3.9 percent in last year's second quarter.

On the other hand, Sales, General, and Administrative (SG&A) expenses decreased slightly from 12.3 percent of Revenue last year to 12.1 percent.

The quarter did not include any separately identified "Other" operating expenses, such as restructuring charges, workforce reduction expenses, asset impairments).

Operating Income was up 20.1 percent from last year's second quarter.  This impressive result can be attributed to the healthy increases in Revenue and Gross Margin.

Net interest and other non-operating items summed to income of $60 million, which was down substantially from $118 million last year.  Some of the decline is due to lower interest rates on the company's cash balances.

The 29.0-percent effective income tax rate was identical to the rate in last year's June quarter.


Given all of the above, Net Income rose by 14.6 percent. Diluted earnings per share increased 13.4 percent.



Full disclosure: No position in AAPL at time of writing.