April 19th, 2000

[5:30 PM] Apple PR Lays Out Q2 Results, Big Profits & Revenues Abound by Staff While our Live Coverage offers more details on the Apple's 2nd fiscal Quarter results, Apple also offered a press release covering the announcement. Apple announced a big increase in profits and revenue over last year and an increase in gross margins over last quarter. According to Apple: CUPERTINO, California—April 19, 2000—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2000 second quarter ending April 1, 2000. For the quarter, the Company posted a net profit of $233 million, or $1.28 per diluted share. These results compare to a net profit of $135 million, or $.84 per diluted share, achieved in the year-ago quarter. Revenues for the quarter were $1.94 billion, up 27 percent from the year-ago quarter, and gross margins were 28.2 percent, up from 26.3 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 51 percent of the quarter's revenues. The quarter's results included a $73 million after-tax gain from the sale of 1.5 million shares of ARM Holdings plc., which contributed $.40 to earnings per diluted share. Without non-recurring items, the Company's net profit was $160 million, an increase of 72 percent from the year-ago quarter and earnings per diluted share increased 47 percent from the year-ago quarter. Sales of 1,043,000 units drove year-over-year unit growth of 26 percent. "Strong demand for our professional products combined with superb operational efficiency resulted in very strong earnings," said Fred Anderson, Apple's CFO. "Apple finished the quarter with $3.6 billion in cash and short-term investments." Apple also announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a two-for-one split of its common stock. Subject to shareholders approving an increase in authorized shares at Apple's annual meeting tomorrow, each shareholder of record at the close of business on May 19, 2000 will receive one additional share for every outstanding share held on the record date, and trading will begin on a split-adjusted basis on June 21, 2000. Wes George, Business Editor for The Mac Observer, will be bringing a detailed analysis of the quarter's results tomorrow morning. The Mac Observer Spin: This is certainly a great quarter for Apple. The 2nd quarter is traditionally a weak one for the company, yet revenues increased some 27% to almost US$2 billion. It would be nice to know why the company insists on unloading their shares of ARM Holdings as fast as they possibly can... With sales for the G4 and PowerBook showing so strongly, the company is certainly well positioned to continue growth. Any changes to the company's pro line will only have a positive impact on the company's bottom line in future quarters. We are also heartened to see Apple flush with so much cash. US$3.6 billion is a mighty war chest indeed. That positions the company to make whatever acquisitions they may have their hearts set on. Apple