乔布斯：苹果是世界第三大手机供应商

Jobs: Apple Is Third Largest Handset Supplier

Though he typically shies away from company earnings calls, Steve Jobs took the mic on Tuesday to announce that Apple is now the third-largest mobile phone supplier in the world.

Jobs stated that the company's $4.6 billion in iPhone revenues this quarter place it right behind mobile phone giants Nokia ($12.7 billion for the quarter) and Samsung ($5.9 billion). This puts Apple ahead of Sony Ericsson ($4.2 billion), LG ($3.4 billion), Motorola ($3.2 billion) and RIM ($2.1 billion).

Calling the revolutionary handset "stunning," Jobs was also excited to share that Apple sold more handsets in the fourth quarter than Research In Motion.

"This is a milestone for us," Jobs said. "RIM is a company that makes good products, and it's surprising after only 15 months in the market we could outsell them in any quarters. If this isn't stunning, I don't know what it is. All due to the incredible performance of the iPhone 3G."

Additionally, the company said it has already surpassed its goal of selling 10 million iPhones within the 2008 calendar year. The iPhone saw tremendous growth during the fourth quarter of 2008 alone, selling about 7 million units of the new iPhone 3G compared to 1 million units of the first-generation iPhone sold in the same quarter of 2007.

Complementing the handset's success, Apple's iPods also saw positive results, selling about 11 million units over the quarter.

Altogether, Apple posted $11.68 billion in revenue for the quarter; iPhone sales accounted for 39 percent of that total. Using GAAP figures, Apple posted $7.9 billion in revenue for the quarter. The company saw 17-percent revenue growth and 21-percent unit growth in its fourth-quarter earnings, for a net quarterly profit of $1.14 billion, or $1.26 per diluted share. Overall, Apple performed above analysts' estimates of $1.11 per share and its own forecast of $1 per share.

Before Apple's earnings report, some Apple enthusiasts deduced from looking at iPhone hardware ID numbers (IMEIs) that the company had already achieved the goal -- and they were correct.

The profits should put Apple in a good position for what promises to be a challenging year ahead. In response to Apple's Oct. 14 notebookannouncement, some analysts said Apple is particularly vulnerable to the coming recession because its premium-brand computers are generally higher priced.

"There will be a lot of people looking at a lot of stuff at the Apple Store, and they'll probably come out with [iPod] nanos or shuffles," said Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies. "That's what people are going to feel like they're going to afford this year."

Jobs stressed that it was difficult to determine how the economic downturn would affect Apple's sales.

"First let me say that we are not economists," Jobs said. "Your next door neighbor can likely predict what's going to happen as accurately as we can.... We have the best customers ... and they're unlikely to abandon the quality and seamless integration they've personallyexperienced and become accustomed to with Apple's products. The economic downturn is more likely to delay [interested buyers] than switch."

Apple stock closed down 7.06 percent, or $6.95, at $91.49. However, the stock rebounded in after-hours trading at $93.32, up $1.83 or 2 percent.

　　 乔布斯：苹果是世界第三大手机供应商

尽管他还是一如既往地在回避公司盈利的相关问题，但是史蒂夫·乔布斯在周二的对外新闻发布中称，苹果现在已经是世界上第三大手机供应商。

乔布斯称，本季度iPhone的46亿美元销售额，使得苹果迈入行业前列，仅次于手机巨头诺基亚（该季度销售额为127亿美元）和三星（该季度销售额为59亿美元）。这一累累战果，让苹果领先了索尼爱立信（该季度销售额为42亿美元）、LG（该季度销售额为34亿美元）、摩托罗拉（该季度销售额为32亿美元）和RIM（该季度销售额为21亿美元）。

乔布斯认为这革命性的手机十分"惊为天人"，他还兴奋地与我们分享了一则信息：苹果在第四财季的手机销售量高于RIM公司。

"对我们来说，这是个里程碑。"乔布斯说，"RIM是一家生产优质产品的公司，在仅仅15月的时间内，让市场销售额超过他们这是很令人惊讶的事实。如果这不足以惊为天人，我实在是想不出还有比这更奇妙的事情了！所有的这些都归功于iPhone 3G令人难以置信的战绩。"

此外，苹果还表示，这一战果已经让公司超越了在2008年销售1000万台iPhone的目标。单单是2008第四季度的销售额就可以看到iPhone惊人的增长速度：相比其2007年同一季度100万台一代iPhone的销售额，2008年第四季度销售了700万台新iPhone 3G。

与手机的成功遥相呼应，苹果iPod也取得了优秀的成果。本季度，公司卖出了大约110万台iPod。

总而言之，苹果在本季度取得了116.8亿美元的收入；iPhone的销售额占了总量的39%。按美国一般公用会计准则数据显示，苹果在本季度取得了79亿美元的收入。在第四季度盈利中，公司收入增长了17%，销售量增长了21%，净利润为11.4亿美元，或者可以说每股盈利1.26美元。总的说来，苹果的表现超出分析师预期的每股盈利1.11美元，和自己预期的每股盈利1美元的估值。

在苹果盈利报告公开前，一些苹果发烧友通过查看iPhone硬件ID序号（IMEIs）看出水果公司已经达到目标了--他们确实没错。

这一盈利报告可以让苹果为成为据挑战性的年度领头羊的承诺打好基础。针对苹果公司10月14日笔记本电脑的发布，一些分析师认为，苹果会因为未来的经济衰退而蒙受较重的影响，因为它优质的品牌电脑价格普遍较高。

"会有很多人进入苹果商店浏览丰富的货架，他们也可能会在离开的时候买走iPod nano或者shuffle，"终点科技分析师罗杰·凯伊说，"这就是消费者们认为自己今年能够支付得起的产品。"

乔布斯强调，经济不景气是否会影响苹果的销售，这还是一个很难确定的判断。

"第一点，我们不是经济学家，"乔布斯说，"你隔壁的邻居可能也会预测将要发生的事实，至于准确度也可能跟我们一样......我们拥有最优质的顾客......而他们也不像是会放弃自己在苹果产品上已经体验甚至习惯了的品质和无缝集成服务的人。经济衰退更有可能是会延长吸引"潜在消费者"的时间，而不是打消潜在消费者的购买意图。"

苹果的股票下跌了7.06个百分点，6.95美元，达每股91.49美元。但是，在盘后交易时股票反弹至每股93.32元，上升了1.83美元，2个百分点。
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