Apple Expects To Sell 10 Million iPhones In Calendar 2008

Apple (AAPL) CFO Peter Oppenheimer, speaking on the company’s post-earnings conference call Wednesday afternoon, said the company continues to expect to sell 10 million iPhones in calendar 2008.

Here are some other tidbits from the call.

• Oppenheimer noted that FY Q3 operating margins of 19.2% were higher than expected, due in part to a favorable commodity cost environment.
• Macs had their best quarter ever in units, by more than 150,000; Macs were 60% of revenue, with units up 33% growth year over year.
• Notebooks were 64% of Mac sales in the quarter.
• iPods were up 21% year over year in units.
• Apple plans to launch iPhone sales in a few countries in Europe in the fourth calendar quarter, expanding into more countries into 2008.
• Sales in Apple stores totaled $915 million, up 33% year-over-year; there are 185 stores; average stores in the quarter was 180, generated on average $5.1 million revenue per store, up from $4.7 million a year ago.
• Apple expects to open 12 stores in September quarter to end year at 197.
• Gross margin in the quarter was 36.9%, higher than guidance; the difference came from a more favorable expected pricing environment for the Mac; better than expected product mix; and component costs that were more favorable than expected.
• For the fourth quarter, the company sees gross margins down to 29.5%, reflecting a back to school promotion, higher commodity costs and a “product transition,” which it did not detail.
• The company did not book any revenue from AT&T (T) in the quarter.
• On commodity pricing, Apple sees NAND flash memory tightening in the current quarter, with DRAM expected to stabilize; they also see LCD panels in “greater than typical imbalance” with little expanding supply and accelerating demand for flat panel televisions.

Comments

[Julian Ivan...:]

AAPL is at 147 now.. it touched $152 AH last night. Where are all the nay-sayers who laughed at me in January when I said the stock was going to $160 this year on over $3.80 in earnings (and I explained in detail how I arrived at that number to prove it wasn't plucked out of thin air)?

The same guys who said the stock was overvalued at $78, and then $90 (Richard Gardner, Toni Sacconaghi et al) are probably avoiding their private clients this week after recommending they wait out the rise over $100 in April to "buy a dip post-Q2 earnings". Well guess what: we're "post-Q3" now and 44% up.

So much for "5-star analysts."

2007 Jul 26 11:45 AM