14 DAY TRIAL // Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, made a rare and surprising appearance at the company's Q4 conference call yesterday. Jobs used this opportunity to let everyone know they're satisfied with their business, but also to shed some light on future expectations and on the company's plans with its cash reserves.
Jobs took some topics head on, like the ongoing global financial climate. He opened by saying, “Some remarkable things are happening at Apple, but everything is set against this remarkable economic slowdown.” Later on, he added, “We are not economists. Your next door neighbor can likely predict what’s going to happen as well as we can.” Jobs added that Apple customers were the “smartest, most product-aware customers in the market.” Apple's CEO voiced his disbelief regarding rumors that customers might abandon the company during hard times like these, saying they would rather postpone their purchases at most.
Then, Jobs made a reference to the company's (c.) $25 billion cash reserve. The reserve is free of debt and will help the company invest its way through the downturn, eventually emerging with better products standing tall among its competitors, just like it did during the last economic downswing.
“There’s a lot of prudence in [our forecast],” he said. “And it’s also October. October has always been a foggy month for us. Sales often don’t often take off until November sometime… We think we’re doing the right things, and we think we know what the results may be, but there’s a lot of prudence built in. We’re not economists and we read the same newspapers you do,” Jobs added.
Analysts present at the conference call jumped in to squeeze more on the company's plans from Steve Jobs, one of them also suggesting that Apple could use the cash to buy back its own stock. In response, Jobs asserted that they'd rather use it as a safety cushion, adding that the money “isn’t burning a hole in [their] pocket.”
While Apple's strongest sales were reported in the Macintosh department, Jobs also took a few minutes to discuss their success with the iPhone. Apple's CEO was blown away by the figures that showed they'd actually beat RIM in the smartphone battle.
“Apple beat RIM!” he said. “In our most recent quarter, RIM sold 6.1 million Blackberry devices, compared to our 6.9 iPhones. Apple outsold RIM last quarter, and this is a milestone for us. RIM is a good company that makes good products, and so it is surprising that we could outsell them in any quarter after only 15 months in the market.” Jobs also pointed out that Apple's iPhone is a more expensive device than most cell phones on the market.
Source: Seeking Alpha (call transcript)