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July 22, 2008
Apple hints at lower prices as iPod, notebook refresh on tap
Amid all the chatter about Apple’s fiscal third quarter results, which were strong, most concerns about the future revolve around two words: Gross margins. The big takeaway for technology buyers: Those lower margins hint at cheaper iPods and notebooks in the not-to-distant future.
Following Apple’s typical strong quarter with a side of conservative guidance (Techmeme), CFO Peter Oppenheimer and COO Tim Cook noted that gross margins would be 31.5 percent for the September quarter and about 30 percent in fiscal 2009. It could be that Apple is lowballing again with its outlook, but there are good reasons to think that your Mac notebooks and iPods will come cheaper in the future.
Overall, I think you’re going to see Apple play the volume game a bit. It is the No. 3 PC maker in the U.S. and has a lot of open field before it bumps into Dell and HP in those top two spots. Part of the margin pressure is back to school promotions, but executives also noted that there will be an undisclosed product transition that will also lower prices and hurt margins.
Posted by ipodworld at July 22, 2008 03:42 PM