No position for me but at first glance, the numbers look weak.
First, China revenue is down 27% YOY! This isn’t due to a slowdown in China (people can still afford to buy a phone), it is due to stiff competition from Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Huawei etc, which now produce similar phones for a fraction of the price of an iPhone.
Second,although Apple’s services revenue grew 29% YOY, this segment just represents 12.9% of total revenue. So, contrary to the ‘spin’ from sell side analysts, this is not a ‘services’ company. This is a hardware/devices business or better still, a phone manufacturer now facing stiff competition in the developing nations (its biggest growth market).
But it did beat the lowered guidance from 1/3 and also did not lower guidance for the next Q (which was a surprise to me anyway). Looks like AH like it. I sold too early I guess.
Apple has met both upside and downside resistance near $164 several times over the last two years.
I’ve seen several interviews with Tim Cook and have even heard privately from an Apple Employee (who tried to give no tells but clearly felt the same as Tim) that the Apple pipeline for products is the best it’s been in a long time and both appeared very excited about the upcoming year… I hope that means that their laptops and the majority of their computers will become touch screen; additionally, it would be nice to see them venturing into the smart car market in a way much greater than just Apple Play.
