
Apple Earnings: A Big Beat as iPad, iPhone Sales Soar - MarketBeat - WSJ - sahillavingia
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/07/19/apple-earnings-a-big-beat/?mod=e2tw
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cageface
I'm surprised that they sold half as many iPads as iPhones. I've read several
predictions that the tablet thing would turn out to be a fad but it seems to
have legs.

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erikpukinskis
I think (and have thought since the iPad launch) that the tablet market will
be bigger than PCs. They will take over roughly 90% of the laptop market
(leaving behind the graphic designers and vintage geeks), and also add a whole
class of users who don't currently have a computer of any kind, at least
doubling the size of the "big screen computer" market.

It's a fascinating example of displacement at work. Apple was never going to
get the PC world to start buying Mac laptops. So they're just going to
displace that entire market with a new product category. Classic strategy from
the _Innovator's Dilemma_ playbook.

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gamble
Average people have an incredible mental block against switching from PCs to
Macs. I'm speculating here, but it seems to me like what market share they've
acquired for the Mac in the last decade has come largely at the margins -
geeks, artists, students, etc. For the average person, their computer is still
a scary, complex, bewildering machine somewhat akin to an automobile that can
only be comprehended by experts. They would no sooner switch to a Mac than
trade in their Camry for a Lotus.

The iPad is a psychic do-over. By creating a new category firmly embedded in
consumer electronics rather than computing they can displace the computer
_mindset_ as well as the PC as a physical product.

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petercooper
Now with $76bn cash/cash-like to hand. It'd be fun to see some big
acquisitions but I wouldn't bet on it.. Perhaps a few million into the MacRuby
project? ;-)

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guelo
There's really nothing they could conceivably do with that much cash. I don't
understand why shareholders don't demand some dividends.

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aashay
There's plenty they could conceivably do with their cash.

See here: [http://www.quora.com/What-would-make-sense-for-Apple-to-
use-...](http://www.quora.com/What-would-make-sense-for-Apple-to-use-
its-51-billion-in-cash-for-a-strategic-acquisition/answers/612608)

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ojbyrne
And the stock is down (ever so slightly) in after-hours trading (as of 4:58
EST).

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YooLi
Not sure if you are trolling, but here is the after-hours price right from
NASDAQ, up quite a bit after hours from close:

[http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/ExtendedTradingTrades.aspx...](http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/ExtendedTradingTrades.aspx?selected=AAPL&mkttype=after)

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ojbyrne
If you look at page 311 of that:
[http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/ExtendedTradingTrades.aspx...](http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/ExtendedTradingTrades.aspx?&pageno=311&selected=AAPL&mkttype=after)

You can see one quote of $376.0167, below the closing price of $ 376.85. I
just happened to look at bad data.

