MacRumors

Apple conducted their Q4 2005 Financial Results Conference call at today. Apple had already announced earnings as well as Mac and iPod shipments this quarter.

MacCentral provides a running update of the conference call.

Hilights include:

- 1,236,000 Macs sold
- 6,451,000 iPods sold
- 602,000 of the Macs were Desktops (PowerMac, iMac, eMac, Mac mini, Xserve)
- 634,000 of the Macs were Portables (PowerBooks, iBooks)
- More than a Million iPod nanos were sold within 17 days of its release.
- Mac OS X 10.4 revenue is approximately $35 million per quarter
- Hints at upcoming iPod-related announcements.
- Intel Based Macs still expected by June 2006. Some "very cool" PowerPCs in the pipeline.
- iTunes Music Store Market share > 80%

Apple announced their 2005 4th Quarter earnings today.

Apple posted revenue of $3.68 billion and net quarterly profit of $430 million, or $.50 per diluted share. In the same quarter last year, Apple posted $2.35 billion in revenue and a net profit of $105 million or $.13 per diluted share. Gross margins were 28.1% (up from 27%).

1,236,000 Macintosh units and 6,451,00 iPods were shipped this quarter. This represents a 48% growth in Mac shipments and a 220% growth in iPod shipments over last year's corresponding quarter.

We're thrilled to have concluded the best year in Apple's history, with 68 percent year-over-year revenue growth and 384 percent net profit growth," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "This is the direct result of our focus on innovation and the immense talent and creativity at Apple. We could not be more excited about the new products we're working on for 2006."

"We're very pleased to report 48 percent year-over-year growth in Mac shipments in Q4, as well as our 10th consecutive quarter of record iPod sales," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO."

TheStreet provides an analysis of Apple's current market position with respect to its recent popularity. TheStreet also weighs in on potential product releases at tomorrow's Media event. Despite most recent rumors that the event will simply introduce upgraded regular iPods and new PowerBook/PowerMac (dual Core PPC) configs, the article still speculates on the possibility of a video iPod.

That said, the article provides an interesting statistic from the NPD Group:

Through August, Apple's share of the U.S. retail market for computers, excluding online sales, grew to 6.6% from 4.3% in the same period last year, according to market researcher NPD Group.

While the absolute numbers may be up for debate, the relative increase year-over-year is certainly encouraging. Many analysts describe a "halo effect" surrounding the iPod which is said to drive iPod owners to also (or later) purchase Mac computers.

Readers are reminded that Apple will be broadcasting their 4th Quarter Financial Results today at 2pm PT/5pm ET. More details could become available at that time.

MacBidouille posts some screenshots which claim to demonstrate an unreleased Quad Processor Intel-based PowerMac with Hyperthreading support.

Without giving much details, those captures shows MacOSX x86 running on a 4 physical CPU-based MacIntel with Hyperthreading enable. One can clearly see 4 physical processors recognized while 8 logical processors are recorded by the CPU monitor. So MacOSX can really manage without problem any MacIntel based on either physical or logical processors.

Apple announced the transition to Intel-based processors in June of this year. Apple has offered Intel PowerMacs to developers for testing. These Developer machines house a single 3.6GHz Pentium 4.

Filling in more details of the October 12th announcement, ThinkSecret reports that two new iPods will be introduced on October 12th.

The new two iPod models will reportedly replace the current $299 and $399 models and be sold at the same price. The iPods are expected to be bumped to 40GB and 80GB capacities with slightly smaller form factors and offer two different colors (Black and White).

ThinkSecret also notes that "at least four new Mac configurations" will be released on Wednesday, but no further details are available.

With the media event coming up on October 12th, rumors continue to fly and resourceful users are searching for any evidence of upcoming products. Rumors range from Video iPods to PowerMac revisions.

One link that is floating around as "evidence" for a Video iPod is an old link left over on one of Apple's individualized country sites.

http://www.apple.com/za/itunes/video/ (now removed)

The page is entitled "iTunes + iPod Video" and appears to link to a video which is not available. On first glance it appears to be a new ad. However, this is an old "iTunes + iPod" promotional video that was shown at WWDC 2004 and not a new ad featuring a Video iPod. The video was shown during the WWDC 2004 keynote speech (7:55).

The wait is still on. More rumors/details as they become available.

Since Apple sent out media invitations for a special announcement on October 12th, the rumor mill has been buzzing. There have been reports of a video iPod, an Airport Express with Video, as well as PowerMac and Powerbook updates.

ThinkSecret amends their earlier PowerMac/Powerbook rumor report with some further details of the upcoming media event.

According to the rumor site, Apple will be delivering an iPod update alongside Pro Mac updates... but ThinkSecret reports that Apple will not be delivering a Video-capable iPod. This is contrary to a recent claim by Appleinsider.

The new iPod will boost storage capacity to 80GB as well as what appears to be minor cosmetic and interface changes. ThinkSecret maintains that there will be no Video iPod, which is in concordance with historic comments by Steve Jobs.

Meanwhile, PowerMac and Powerbook updates are still expected but details are still limited.

Contrary to information posted by AppleInsider yesterday, Think Secret now claims that Apple will use the October 12 media event to release newly updated versions of the Power Mac and Powerbook. Think Secret does not provide any speculations to what the upgrades might entail.

Their source claims that Apple is not likely to release a competitor to the new iPod nano this early, for fear of cannibalizing sales of the high-margined nano. The iPod nano was introduced September 7, 2005.
Of note, MacOSXRumors first reported that Apple would be releasing new products as soon as next week. One of these products is expected to be a new Dual Core PowerMac.

Along with reports of an upcoming video-capable iPod, AppleInsider claims that Apple is set to release a new wireless device like the Airport Express.

The new box is rumored to have video-out capability, offering wireless video feed to a television or other display.

As AI claims, it is unclear as to whether the release of this device will coincide with the release of the video iPod, or stand alone at its own unveiling.

According to AppleInsider, Apple is prepared to launch a video-capable version of the iPod in the coming weeks, possibly as soon as the scheduled October 12th media event.

The new iPod is expected to be a similar form factor as the present 60 GB iPod, although several millimeters thinner. It is expected to have a smaller click-wheel as found on the iPod nano, making way for a larger high-resolution color display than the current full-size iPod offering.

A major iTunes update is expected with the release as well, containing a significant number of downloadable music videos and other short movie content.

An anonymous source tipped us to an Apple Invitation-Only event to be held at 10:00 a.m. October 12 at the California Theater in San Jose. The invitation itself features red curtains in the background with simple white type in the middle stating "One more thing..."

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has often used the phrase "one more thing" at the end of Keynote addresses at large conferences to bring out new products.

Apple has posted the website for the Q4 2005 Financial Results Webcast.

The webcast will take place at 2pm PT/5pm ET on Tuesday, October 11, 2005.

Please note that comments made during this call may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. For more information on the factors that could influence results, please refer to Apple's SEC filings.

Apple's Financial Results Conference call provides the recent sales numbers for Apple's product lines and typically provides some insight into Apple's plans.

Appleinsider claims that Apple will be introducing new iPods and Pro Macs in October.

The 5th generation iPods will revise the hard drive based iPods and are rumored to provide improvements in size/form factor. The new iPods are believed to utilize a higher density 1.8" Hard Drive from Toshiba which are available in 40 and 80GB sizes.

Also expected soon are upgrades to the PowerMacs and PowerBooks, but little definitive information is available on these upgrades. Appleinsider previously expected hardware announcements at Apple Expo Paris. Other sites also predicted PowerBook updates for Paris... but no hardware announcements came at the expo.

Dual-core PowerMac updates have been rumored since the announcement of Dual Core PowerPC chips from IBM.

Businessweek recaps the recent exchanges between Steve Jobs and Edgar Bronfan - chief executive of Warner Music. At the heart of the matter is the debate between fixed $.99 pricing for music downloads vs a tiered model.

"There's no content in the world that has doesn't have some price flexibility," Bronfman pointed out. "Not all songs are created equal. Not all albums are created equal."

Steve Jobs has insisted that the $.99 price point is appropriate and feels that higher pricing will turn consumers back towards piracy.

Businessweek reports that Apple's licensing agreements with the Music Industry runs out in early 2006. Apple may continue to hold the advantage in these licensing negotiations as it cements its hold on the music player market. Meanwhile, Apple's recent entry into the Flash-based MP3 player market with the iPod nano may provide it with an even wider lead.

Apple's lock on large quantities of flash at a substantial discount will make it difficult to other companies to compete, and provide Steve Jobs and Apple the leverage to keep music prices where they are. Apple is rumored to be securing more flash supplies with a deal with Hynix Semiconductor.

The new flash memory from Samsung is a new Multi-Level Cell type which is 30-40% cheaper than the more common SLC type that many competitors use. Samsung defends its established deal with Apple:

It's true that the company that has the largest market will have the edge. Buying 100 units and buying one can't be same.

CNet quotes Motorola's Ed Zander with teasing comments about Apple's plans for a "smart phone".

And we know that [Apple is] going to build a smart phone--it's only a matter of time

His comments appear to be primarily speculative. Rumor and speculation about an Apple-branded phone has been ongoing.

Meanwhile, in the article, Zander was defending comments he had made against the iPod nano. Those comments were "taken completely out of context" and Zander reports that they still had a great relationship with Apple.

After initial rumor reports and subsequent user reports about speed upgraded Mac Minis quietly making their way into Apple's distribution chain, eWeek confirmed updates with Apple.

Apple is not re-labeling the Mac Minis -- even with last-minute stickers -- so buyers have no way of knowing if they are getting what's marked on the box, or if it's something better.

Clearing inventory is speculated as a possible reason for the unadvertised upgrades.

The upgraded specs include 1.33GHz and 1.5GHz processor speeds up from 1.25/1.42GHz that is currently advertised on Apple's site.