Asymco: 60% of Apple’s Q4 sales came from products that did not exist three years ago

By on Oct 20, 2010 at 2:33 AM
General October 20, 2010

Company Asymco — a “unique hybrid of an app production studio and an industry analysis advisory with both practices informing each other” — has a fairly unique factoid up on their website. According to analyst Horace Dediu, sixty percent — that’s 6-0 — of Apple’s Q4 2010 sales came from products that did not exist until three years ago. Obviously the iPhone and iPad take center stage in that particular category. Talk about a short-term renaissance.

Read

Tags:
, , , , ,
11 Comments

Related Articles

  • Mgl323

    The whole tech industry changed when the original iPhone was introduced by Apple three years ago.

  • Perspective

    It’s not that these are products that did not exist until three years ago, since actually only one of those he mentions is three years old. It’s that of those products that now represent 60% of earnings, the older is three+ years old, while the younger is only 6 months old.

  • naughty_nicky

    Regardless of which side you’re on, that’s one amazing graph. Seems like all products (except for ipad) is synergistically increase or decrease at the same time.

    • David

      I don’t think you’re reading the graph right. Software, perpherals, and music have been flat(no large sales growth). Ipod, and macs show seasonal spikes(think holiday shoppers). While Iphones have showed a marked increase in sales. The Ipad is too new to tell.

      • Tdot34

        iPhone sales are as seasonally spiked as iPods, except iPhone sales spike in June when the new model is released every year. Which is why they sold 14 million last quarter, be this quarter it will be down to 6-8 as usual.

  • Norm

    DROID > iphone

  • delusion ftl

    Another graph showing what I’ve been saying for a while now. Apple investors want the mac line spun off. Although it’s profitable it’s margins are not as strong and it contains several burdensome costs to apple. Apple stock would perform significantly better if it were dumped.

    Here’s another warning. Apple power mac, mac pro users. Your days of having “apple” are likely numbered. Adobe has just about left your platform. Apple has been neglecting you for years now. Unless you want to change over to IOS based multi touch imacs, expect a new home soon. (assuming apple investors get their way)

  • Shanghai Dan

    This simply confirms the fact: Apple is no more a computer or technology company, but a phone/entertainment company.

    • NuShrike

      Yes, Apple is a better Sony than Sony for CE. Without CE, Apple would still be in the pits it was before.

  • http://twitter.com/DownTroddenInDC Grant

    I <3 AAPL. It's been a great complement to our stock portfolio.

  • http://twitter.com/Moczik Brad Moczik

    Apple has done a good job staying ahead of the game, but it’s a leader in relatively new, volatile, trend-driven markets. So, I see that number as somewhat of a red flag. Motorola probably had similar numbers back in the RAZR days, but was knocking on irrelevance’s doorstep until it released the Droid. Nintendo probably saw a similar effect with the Wii and now look: the novelty’s worn off and Nintendo is back to being a distant #3, propped up by its DS.

    That’s the risk Apple has as a company whose profits are pegged to devices–devices, which ultimately become commoditized. Apple constantly must find ways to add perceived value in order to justify its higher prices and maintain its margins. Apple’s success is largely a result of Jobs’ vision as he is able to find ways to compete in markets by creating something the incumbent leaders don’t have. As a result, Apple reaps huge rewards while the “market leaders” are forced into playing catch-up. But catch-up they ultimately do; however, by that point, Apple has moved on to something else and the cycle repeats itself.

    But how long can you really rely on creating new markets for yourself? It’s a great strategy in the short term, but its sustainability is questionable unless you confine yourself to markets where high turnover is a defining characteristic. What happens when someone beats Apple to the punch and releases The Next Big Thing before they do? It’s then that graphs like the above can become an issue as they hint at a lack of longevity in primary revenue streams. Apple is quickly becoming a one-trick pony, where new devices are really extensions of previous ones and even older ones are receiving a make-over to look like the newer ones.

blog comments powered by Disqus