Continue reading Apple iPhone: Season and Psychology over Substance

Apple iPhone: Season and Psychology over Substance originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Talk about a good first weekend. This morning Apple (AAPL) announced that it sold more than 300,000 iPads as of midnight on Saturday, including deliveries of preordered iPads to customers, to channel partners, and sales at Apple Retail Stores. The company added that iPad users downloaded more than 1,000,000 apps from their App Store and more than 250,000 ebooks from its iBookstore the first day.

Steve Jobs noted that "It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world -- it's going to be a game changer ... iPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad." This is great news for the company, and it lead to JPMorgan upping the company's price target to $305 from $240 while raising 2010 EPS estimates to $12.74 from $11.59. Kaufman expects AAPL to now reach $295 as well.

Continue reading Apple Sells More Than 300,000 iPads in First Weekend, Analysts Take Note

Apple Sells More Than 300,000 iPads in First Weekend, Analysts Take Note originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Even the thought is hard to believe for anyone who's been watching Apple Inc. (AAPL) over the long run. Once upon a time, the company was presumed dead, while Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) continued its march to market dominance. Today, Apple's $180 billion market value is evidence of a new era. Though it's still behind Microsoft's $250 billion, the company's rapid ascent and substantial market presence make at least speculation of catching up to the Redmond giant worth a few minutes of thought.

Microsoft is currently the most valuable technology company in the world, according to a Reuters report. Even Google, Inc (GOOG), with its astounding brand recognition and position as gateway to the internet, is worth "only" $136 billion. Apple, which was once considered a computer company that sold into education and appealed to some graphics geeks, has reasserted itself as a major global presence.

Continue reading Is Apple closing in on Microsoft?

Is Apple closing in on Microsoft? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

By 2013, more than $4 billion will be spent on smartphone applications, according to a new study by the Yankee Group ... and the estimate is said to be conservative. With the average owner of one of these devices downloading around 20 applications a year, it's obvious that this market is getting ready to pop. Currently, only $343 million is spent in this space.

An increase in the number of smartphone applications available -- for Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, Reasearch in Motion's (NASDAQ: RIMM) Blackberry, and Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android -- and rising prices for these applications will push the total size of this market higher.

Continue reading Smartphone apps to spike, newspapers to miss it (again)

Smartphone apps to spike, newspapers to miss it (again) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

BloggingStockCast: Apple taking a larger bit out of retail sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 May 2008 14:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

During the market disruptions of the past couple of months, we saw Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) fall from a high of $148 to a low of $118 ( man, what an opportunity that was!!). The stock is now back up to $141 and this may be your last chance to buy it here under $150. Why? A lot of catalysts are on the near term horizon.

Apple finishes its fiscal year in 11 days. The September 30 quarter and year-end will wrap up an exceptional year for Apple, yet many would argue that the best is yet to come. I expect the year finishing in 11 days to have final revenue numbers of $24 billion with earnings per share coming in at $3.75. iPhone revenues will be somewhat relevant, but that piece of the Apple story is JUST BEGINNING. As Apple exits fiscal year 2007, the more relevant story is still the overwhelming success of the iPod with the corresponding iTunes store, and of course, the newly revamped Mac computer. Mac is gaining market share in a fairly fluid market.

The iPhone production is ramping up. For the year (calendar year), Apple had planned to produce 3.6 million iPhone units. That number is now at 4.8 million units in planned production. European nations will be rolled out for iPhone availability beginning in the calendar fourth quarter with the UK and Germany getting ready for the onslaught.

Continue reading Apple (AAPL): Last chance to buy under $150?

Apple (AAPL): Last chance to buy under $150? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Wikia, the San Mateo start-up founded by Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales, is working on a search engine that will use the same strategy as Wikipedia's user-reliant encyclopedia. Wikia, which already has Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) as an investor, is expected to be launched in the 1st quarter of 2007. (VentureBeat.com)


• Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) could vault ahead of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) in 2007 to become the world's most visited Web site. Microsoft is No. 1 worldwide -- largely because of downloads of updates to its ubiquitous software -- and Yahoo! is the most visited Internet property in the U.S. But Google is growing fast and the recent acquisition of YouTube could speed up its rise. (USA Today)


• The market share of visits to Apple Computer Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) Apple Store (store.apple.com) showed an increase of 110% when comparing Christmas Day 2006 to 2005. The Apple Store was the fourth most visited website in the Hitwise Retail Index on Christmas Day 2006. (GigaOm.com)

Technology stories originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Dec 2006 14:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Apple Store, by all measures, has become a huge success. So much so, that Cingular, Dell, and others are trying their hand at the physical retail thing. A couple days before Christmas I drove by the below ground Apple Store next to FAO Schwarz on New York's Fifth Avenue. While not indigenous to New York City, flocks of tourists nonetheless surrounded the distinctly-designed store.

This year, according to one research report, Apple's stores raked in an average of $4032 per square foot annually, while retail chain Best Buy made $930 and luxury retailer Tiffany & Co. produced $2,666 during the same period. Analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group notes, "if you're measuring a store in terms of production per store, that's pretty impressive."

When the stores first opened, I admit that I was skeptical. Now, all agree that they are a strategically sound addition to the Apple empire (and brand). The Apple store on Fifth Avenue has been described as a marvel of modern design. Some claim that is serves as the technological epi-center for NYC. So much for Silicon Alley.

Apple iStore's ongoing success originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Dec 2006 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dell imitates Apple Stores, does not flatter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Sep 2006 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple retail to expand into Australia? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Jun 2006 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple after the bell 6/12/06: a strong dip after weekend protests originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Jun 2006 16:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How much do Apple enthusiasts love the new Apple store in Manhattan? A heck of a lot, evidently. Steve Jobs went out on quite a limb by designing an I.M. Pei-inspired cube around the subterranean store's entrance at the base of the GM building on 5th Avenue and 59th Street. Apple fans are already lining up, waiting for the

Today the cube came into view and press was invited to tour the fabu new location. Forbes says, "Apple appears to have met the challenge of creating a flagship store worthy of the distinction." Venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson (who uploaded this photo to his flickr account) says, "The design reminds me of an x-ray of the original NeXT Cube... part of the cubist design leitmotif." Scott McNulty from TUAW is "obsessed." Just check out the many fan photos elsewhere on flickr for an indication of the cult of the cube.

The store opens tomorrow night at 6 p.m. and could be the very symbol of a company for whom the retail strategy actually works. After what I've read today, I have to conclude: this is one of the few pieces of Manhattan real estate that were really worth the money.

[Photo John Brockman]

A photo of the Apple Manhattan store a day ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 May 2006 19:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple was plugging along today, basking in the glow of its new (and black) MacBook, and Steve Jobs was probably patting himself on his back after yesterday's lovely write-up in the Wall Street Journal. I'm so smart, he was probably thinking, those naysayers just wish they'd invested in Apple way back when!

And then. Everybody started selling. Before MacBook could rack up its nth sale (rumored to be good even by Apple's projections), before Jobs could reach around for that acrobatic back pat, the market had hammered APPL to the tune of $2.08 -- a whopping 3.19%. The stock ended the day at $63.18.

Despite the sell-off, reviewers can't say enough good about the MacBook; MacWorld said it was faster than the fastest iBook G4 in almost all of its tests. And Forbes went raving on about the new Manhattan Apple store (in a historically dank and failure-ridden space, however). So why the big sell-off? Could it be a side-effect of bad news at rival Dell? If you sold today, what were you thinking?

Apple after the bell 05-18-06: walloped by end-of-day selloff originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 May 2006 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Wall Street Journal today covers Steve Job's retail strategy for Apple, that has succeeded beyond Wall Street's wildest dreams -- and, in fact, was roundly dismissed as a bad idea when Jobs first came up with it five years ago. Apple believed its computers weren't being merchandised appropriately, especially when compared to PCs running the ubiquitous Windows operating system. Why not open Apple retail stores? Jobs thought.

Of course, there are lots of reasons why not, starting with cost and continuing on through the headache of managing retail employees and ending with pissing off your retailers. Although the first few concerns seem to be far outweighed with the fantastic success of the Apple stores ($2.35 billion in revenue for fiscal 2005, 17% of Apple's total sales), the last continues to be an issue. Several retailers have sued the computer company, claiming that Apple gives its own stores preference for hot new products.

Even more than sales, Apple stores seem to be a flashpoint for the company's avid (or would "avid" be a vast understatement?) customers and feature unique and iconic only-in-Apple designs. With Friday's upcoming unveiling of Apple's second Manhattan store under the GM building, the company will be stepping into 24-hour retail and certainly will become even more of a mecca for Apple enthusiasts everywhere. Doubting Thomases should only look to the company's stock price (up $0.25 on a bad day for the market) to see whether the market believes Jobs can pull off yet another unusual success.

[Photo of Manhattan Apple store Patricio00]

Apple's new stores wow the Street (and the street) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 May 2006 17:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.