Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Desktops, Hardware, Apple Financial, Apple
Mac shipments lowest they've been in 1.5 years
Apple reported amazing earnings in its conference call last week, but SwitchtoaMac.com says not so fast -- while it's true that there was a lot of sun shining in Apple's report, there is one small shadow that they obviously didn't mention: their shipments of new Macs have started to drop off for the first time in 5.5 years. And they're the lowest they've been in a year and a half.A problem? Not a terrible one, but as you can see from the chart over there, there is a definite downturn in new Mac shipments. That might actually be good news for Apple, though -- with the economy doing a nice downturn lately, less inventory might shore up sales a bit, and keep their budgets in line with estimations. Of course it would also mean fewer Mac sales (and despite the recent popularity of the iPhone and the iPod, Macs still make up the majority of Apple's revenue), but if customers aren't there, that's better than having warehouses full of computers paid for but not actually sold.
It's definitely not a sign that the company is going down in flames (in fact, all evidence says exactly the opposite), but it may be a sign that Apple's amazing growth is slowing down a bit.
Thanks, Larry T!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tufo said 10:04PM on 4-27-2009
No doubt the economic downturn has taken a toll on mac sales. Though the COST is low, the price is something that more people are concerned about right now.. hence the booming netbook market. A booming market on lacking products... but they are enough for people to "get by" and that's what they want right now.
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Tufo said 10:06PM on 4-27-2009
whoops, shouldn't have said "low".. meant to say "lower than the PRICE"...
mrchin said 10:26PM on 4-27-2009
Guess you're not taking into account that the numbers are almost even to last year's Q2. And comparing to holiday quarter and 2 quarters spanning a college back to school season don't mean anything either?
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Izzy said 8:58AM on 4-28-2009
Comparing quarter to quarter is a good reference, but there is a drop in sales regardless. The Q2 2008 and Q2 2009 differences are minimal but a huge difference (for the better) compared to Q2 2007.
And if people looked at the link they would see that it's a regular pattern every year that the Q2 numbers drop as everyone waits for something new (assumption there). However, this years Q2 numbers are a more significant percentage decrease than previous years.
I'd love to buy one but... said 10:51PM on 4-27-2009
@Tufo - Low? Lower? You looking in the same place I am?
Crap - Apple, you want to move units, make them approachable. $7,000 for a dual Quad core workstation without a drive array?
How about availability? RAID card - 7-8 weeks back ordered?
How about a RAID card that costs less than two Dell computers?
The pro Mac market has gone beyond ridicule. Shiny/glossy displays on laptops, no new mega displays, pro workstations that cost as much as a lot of cars. No wonder sales are down.
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Howie Isaacks said 10:46PM on 4-27-2009
Move along... nothing to see here...
This is really nothing to worry about. Look at the economy right now. Instead of mentioning that Mac shipments are down, we should be celebrating that Apple is still kicking ass in profits, and rolling in cash despite the crappy economy.
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Steven said 11:25PM on 4-27-2009
I firmly believe that the state of the economy is what's causing this "downturn." I, who has never had to worry about buying what I want, when I want, am now analyzing ALL my purchases. I sure hope this economic downturn doesn't last too long, 'cuz I love buying gadgets!! (especially those that come from Apple!)
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McDoobie said 11:13PM on 4-27-2009
Insert comment about the recession here.
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Izzy said 9:35AM on 4-28-2009
Looks like Donkey Kong is looking for work outside of Home Depot.
atuck said 11:18PM on 4-27-2009
I hate to say it but you are right. This is some bullshit. There is no way I'd buy a Mac Pro. The cost is absurdity.
Back to the article:
The stockholder says 'oh noes'
the User says 'about time'
Frankly nothing would make me happier than keeping macs a more niche product. They then are then forced to cater more to the professional crowd and less to the consumer, which is my dream of dreams. Honestly, how dare they pull this glossy macbook pro business. And no, I DONT want a 17" laptop.
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RetroMacCast said 11:21PM on 4-27-2009
Definite downturn? Stop looking at the shape of that graph -- it is misleading. Compare the year-ago numbers and you'll see it is pretty much the same. This is amazing given the economic situation of today. The reason for the misleading hump is the fact that this past quarter is normally the lowest of the four quarters. Fluctuation during the year due to seasonal buying habits is common.
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Josh said 10:18AM on 4-28-2009
I did my part and bought a new MacBook Pro today. I divorced PC after an 11 year rollercoaster relationship. Not looking back.
Apple will ride out this whatever-you-wanna-call-it just like other cycles in the past. Yay.
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balls said 12:07AM on 4-28-2009
No doy. It is a recession.
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patrick said 12:56AM on 4-28-2009
Why would they mention "their shipments of new Macs have started to drop off for the first time in 5.5 years. And they're the lowest they've been in a year and a half." ???
I think its safe to say that computer sales (mac and pc) have been down in general due to our economic situation. I'm sure a lot of companies "shipments" have been dropping- this article makes it look like this is something unique to Apple.
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Terrence said 1:11AM on 4-28-2009
maybe alot of us are waiting for some real upgraded specs to come with the launch of Snow Leopard?
all I want is a quadcore MBP, 15 or 17" is fine. found no reason to upgrade my 2.4ghz sta rosa MBP for the current upgrades.
they need to beef up the power of the MBP, as most people I know use them as the desktop replacement anyway.
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peter said 7:11PM on 4-28-2009
If times were better I would have purchased a new computer at Christmas. But I'll
have to wait - I work on 100% commission and time are slow. Would be a replacement for an old G4 Mini for my mum.
Also I'm happy with my 2 y/o MACPRO.. it will do me for the foreseeable future.
It was high $$'s but it was a very good long-term purchase :-)
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mex said 3:01AM on 4-28-2009
but they said that Mac computers had a -3%.... that is not enough to justify the shipment fall off?
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JT said 4:31AM on 4-28-2009
Oh boy. You need to compare similar quarters, therefore the drop is only 3%, much lower than the industry. Q1 has traditionnally been weak since its the post-christmas 'void' before things pick up again with back-to-school sales.
Now be fair and show the mac sales graph since 2003.
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Gigi said 6:49AM on 4-28-2009
"Mac shipments lowest they've been in 1.5 years..."
And they are set to break a new record: I've ordered a top of the line 17" MBP on February 19 here in SE Europe the moment they were available for shipping (fully paid for it!) and to this day has yet to reach me! As an updated MBP is rumored to appear in WWDC in a couple of weeks I will have an outdated laptop before I will even get it. Way to go Apple!
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Level 5 said 7:06AM on 4-28-2009
See.. Mac sales don't mean a whole lot to Apple. I honestly believe that between the iPhone, iPods and iTunes, they could sell zero Macs in a quarter and they'd be just fine.
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