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If you look at the last earnings report from Apple, they've now stopped reporting the number of iPhones sold. Yeah, the revenue would be growing (because they k

If you look at the last earnings report from Apple, they've now stopped reporting the number of iPhones sold. Yeah, the revenue would be growing (because they keep jacking up the prices), but I'm pretty sure the reason they made this change is that they're no longer selling that many.

scarface74 8y ago
Or because no one else is reporting volume and it puts them at a disadvantage.
- NicoJuicy 8y ago
  Yeah..... No. PS. Because of downvotes: doing it because of competition is a possible reason, not THE reason if the unit sales are starting to drop after 15 years. See whataboutism: https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
  - IBM 8y ago
    Apple's unit sales for iPad were declining YoY for a few years (after rocketing out of the gate) before they stabilized. iPhone unit sales have been more or less flat for the past 3 years (with YoY declines against comps). They still reported units during that period. It's possible that they've decided to stop reporting unit sales because they're anticipating that they'll decline from here, but it's unlikely considering that this has already happened and they reported them anyway. The actual reason why they've stopped reporting units is because they're retraining the shareholder base to look at Apple and the ecosystem of products holistically.
  - scarface74 8y ago
    Apple’s unit sales of iPads have been declining sense 2012. This wasn’t the first year of iPhone sells decline - they dropped a lot the year the 7 was introduced. Not to mention that iPod sales dropped from high of almost 55 million a year in 2008 to less than 10 million before they became basically meaningless and they stopped giving numbers. So if they were going to not give numbers because a product line was declining in volume. They would have done it years ago. But more importantly, the only product line that Apple has ever had volume dominance in was the iPod. When has Apple ever cared about volume and market share and not revenue?
    - NicoJuicy 8y ago
      iPad was never as important as iPhone. Their profit margin on it was not big enough
  - matt4077 8y ago
    "Whataboutism" is really more of a moral concept that doesn't quite fit here. It's probably easier to see when going back to the original word, which (for reasons that must have included either weed or a stroke) was replaced by this historical tragedy of naming that is "whataboutism", i. e. "hypocrisy".
burlesona 8y ago
No other manufacturers disclose unit sales numbers. Apple is still selling tons of iPhones because they dominate the top of the market and don’t compete in the bottom, but the market is mostly saturated and now they’re mostly selling replacements to maintain their stock rather than expanding via new markets etc. Most reporting I’ve seen on this suggests Apple expects revenue to shift more toward services and “other products” over time, and they don’t want analysts hammering on unit sales going forward. They’re surely sensitive to this because Apple has always traded at a low P:E relative to their peers and even the market as a whole. IE. everyone has always tends to bet against Apple and expect them to fall apart “any day now.” Considering a substantial portion of their compensation to employees is paid in RSUs it makes sense for Apple to try and get out ahead of the narrative and protect their stock price as best they can.
matwood 8y ago
> but I'm pretty sure the reason they made this change is that they're no longer selling that many. 46.89M units last quarter is not that many?
bunnycorn 8y ago
> but I'm pretty sure the reason they made this change is that they're no longer selling that many. And why they should? Pretty much everyone has a smartphone now. Trying to push more and more units is something that only a lousy manufacturer would try. Apple is trying to make their devices to last longer.

scarface74 8y ago

Or because no one else is reporting volume and it puts them at a disadvantage.

NicoJuicy 8y ago
Yeah..... No. PS. Because of downvotes: doing it because of competition is a possible reason, not THE reason if the unit sales are starting to drop after 15 years. See whataboutism: https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
- IBM 8y ago
  Apple's unit sales for iPad were declining YoY for a few years (after rocketing out of the gate) before they stabilized. iPhone unit sales have been more or less flat for the past 3 years (with YoY declines against comps). They still reported units during that period. It's possible that they've decided to stop reporting unit sales because they're anticipating that they'll decline from here, but it's unlikely considering that this has already happened and they reported them anyway. The actual reason why they've stopped reporting units is because they're retraining the shareholder base to look at Apple and the ecosystem of products holistically.
- scarface74 8y ago
  Apple’s unit sales of iPads have been declining sense 2012. This wasn’t the first year of iPhone sells decline - they dropped a lot the year the 7 was introduced. Not to mention that iPod sales dropped from high of almost 55 million a year in 2008 to less than 10 million before they became basically meaningless and they stopped giving numbers. So if they were going to not give numbers because a product line was declining in volume. They would have done it years ago. But more importantly, the only product line that Apple has ever had volume dominance in was the iPod. When has Apple ever cared about volume and market share and not revenue?
  - NicoJuicy 8y ago
    iPad was never as important as iPhone. Their profit margin on it was not big enough
- matt4077 8y ago
  "Whataboutism" is really more of a moral concept that doesn't quite fit here. It's probably easier to see when going back to the original word, which (for reasons that must have included either weed or a stroke) was replaced by this historical tragedy of naming that is "whataboutism", i. e. "hypocrisy".

burlesona 8y ago

No other manufacturers disclose unit sales numbers. Apple is still selling tons of iPhones because they dominate the top of the market and don’t compete in the bottom, but the market is mostly saturated and now they’re mostly selling replacements to maintain their stock rather than expanding via new markets etc. Most reporting I’ve seen on this suggests Apple expects revenue to shift more toward services and “other products” over time, and they don’t want analysts hammering on unit sales going forward. They’re surely sensitive to this because Apple has always traded at a low P:E relative to their peers and even the market as a whole. IE. everyone has always tends to bet against Apple and expect them to fall apart “any day now.” Considering a substantial portion of their compensation to employees is paid in RSUs it makes sense for Apple to try and get out ahead of the narrative and protect their stock price as best they can.

matwood 8y ago

> but I'm pretty sure the reason they made this change is that they're no longer selling that many. 46.89M units last quarter is not that many?

bunnycorn 8y ago

> but I'm pretty sure the reason they made this change is that they're no longer selling that many. And why they should? Pretty much everyone has a smartphone now. Trying to push more and more units is something that only a lousy manufacturer would try. Apple is trying to make their devices to last longer.