Apple Planning Surge in Retail and Cloud Spending in 2012
Last week, Apple released its annual 10-K report, offering a summary of the company's financial performance and other items of interest for fiscal 2011. One interesting tidbit from the report is gaining some attention for its glimpse into the future, as GigaOM reports on a new research note from UBS analyst Maynard Um addressing Apple's planned capital expenditures (CapEx) for fiscal 2012. From the 10-K report:
The Company’s capital expenditures were $4.6 billion during 2011, consisting of approximately $614 million for retail store facilities and $4.0 billion for other capital expenditures, including product tooling and manufacturing process equipment, real estate for the future development of the Company’s second corporate campus, and other corporate facilities and infrastructure.
...
The Company anticipates utilizing approximately $8.0 billion for capital expenditures during 2012, including approximately $900 million for retail store facilities and approximately $7.1 billion for product tooling and manufacturing process equipment, and corporate facilities and infrastructure, including information systems hardware, software and enhancements.
The projected 74% increase in capital expenditures is evidence of Apple's commitment to both retail stores other infrastructure needs, many of which are related to Apple's cloud-based initiatives. On the retail front, Apple has noted that it is planning to open forty new retail stores during fiscal 2012, and is also planning to expand or replace a number of its existing stores that are too small to adequately serve customer demand. Other infrastructure needs include cloud-focused facilities like the North Carolina data center where Apple is building a solar farm and the new corporate campus in Cupertino.
Horace Dediu at asymco has taken a different look at Apple's CapEx within the context of iOS device sales, noting that sales have been been closely correlated with CapEx over the past several years. Dediu's conclusion is that the significant increase in budgeted non-retail CapEx points toward Apple expecting yet another year of 100% growth in iOS device unit sales.
(via Daring Fireball)
Popular Stories
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle.
Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines.
According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option.
Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that...
The company behind the BlackBerry-like Clicks Keyboard accessory for the iPhone today unveiled a new Android 16 smartphone called the Clicks Communicator.
The purpose-built device is designed to be used as a second phone alongside your iPhone, with the intended focus being communication over content consumption. It runs a custom Android launcher that offers a curated selection of messaging...
Apple plans to introduce a 12.9-inch MacBook in spring 2026, according to TrendForce.
In a press release this week, the Taiwanese research firm said this MacBook will be aimed at the entry-level to mid-range market, with "competitive pricing."
TrendForce did not share any further details about this MacBook, but the information that it shared lines up with several rumors about a more...
Apple is planning to release a low-cost MacBook in 2026, which will apparently compete with more affordable Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Apple's most affordable Mac right now is the $999 MacBook Air, and the upcoming low-cost MacBook is expected to be cheaper. Here's what we know about the low-cost MacBook so far.
Size
Rumors suggest the low-cost MacBook will have a display that's around 13 ...
Apple today announced a number of updates to Apple Fitness+ and activity with the Apple Watch.
The key announcements include:
New Year limited-edition award: Users can win the award by closing all three Activity Rings for seven days in a row in January.
"Quit Quitting" Strava challenge: Available in Strava throughout January, users who log 12 workouts anytime in the month will win an ...
Govee today introduced three new HomeKit-compatible lighting products, including the Govee Floor Lamp 3, the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra, and the Govee Sky Ceiling Light.
The Govee Floor Lamp 3 is the successor to the Floor Lamp 2, and it offers Matter integration with the option to connect to HomeKit. The Floor Lamp 3 offers an upgraded LuminBlend+ lighting system that can reproduce 281...
