For many online and brick and mortar stores, it has not been a great holiday season. Even with all the after-Christmas sales today, retailers are saying they do not expect to be able to make up for the effects of a dismal economy.

For Amazon, however, things went very well. Today Amazon reported that this has been their best season so far, shipping an amazing 72.9 items per second. Amazon has not reported profits, so with deep discounting they may not have made as much money as last year, even though they have sold more items.

In the electronics category, where computers and MP3 players sit, the Apple iPod touch was a best seller. Of the 25 best selling notebook computers, 7 were Apple laptops when I checked. (These numbers change hourly.) Only one other laptop that sells for more than 500 dollars made the top 25, a Toshiba for $599. The rest of the top sellers were all under $500 and included several netbooks. Are you listening, Apple? Netbooks are catching on. What is so interesting is that Apple users did not seem to be very sensitive to price, and the best selling Apple notebook was not the cheapest, but was in fact the new unibody MacBook.

For desktop computer sales, 3 of the 5 best sellers are Macs, but note these numbers change hourly too. Dell and HP round out the top 5. While not authoritative, Apple seems to weathering some of the economic recession. When Apple releases holiday benchmarks for their retail and online store, the results should be interesting.

Apple looking pretty good at Amazon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple looking pretty good at Amazon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AAPL fell 6.57 percent today after the Macworld announcements yesterday and a general retreat among tech-sector stocks. The company's stock closed at $89.16 per share, and over 42 million shares changed hands.

A lot of the selling was done last night in after-hours trading, with the stock opening the day's trading this morning around $91 a share.

In related news today, Oppenheimer Funds cut its rating on Apple stock from "outperform" to "perform," based largely on the fact that Jobs will not present the keynote speech at Macworld Expo next month.

Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner wrote a note to clients, saying "we don't know why Steve Jobs has pulled out of his annual address at Macworld [...] Whatever the reason, the unexpected announcement has underscored the greatest risk to Apple's long-term success -- its dependence on Jobs' health and its apparent lack of a succession plan."

AAPL has remained off its 52-week low of $79.14, which it recorded on November 21.

AAPL falls $6.27 during rough trading day originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AAPL falls $6.27 during rough trading day originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The NPD data for November retail sales have arrived, and the news is not that cheery: year-over-year Mac sales were flat last month, while Windows PC sales grew 7 percent over 2007's total. Desktops on both platforms got hammered, with 20% drops across both platforms -- Windows machines down 15% and Mac desktop sales down a dramatic 38%. Some of this may be attributable to the long-idle Mac mini (soon to be refreshed, we hear), static feature set of the iMac, and reduced purchasing of Mac Pros and iMacs by education and corporate customers, but consumer buying is clearly down for the desktop.

The tables are turned on the portable side: year over year, Mac laptop sales grew 22 percent for November vs. a Windows increase of 15%. This is good news for Apple's refreshed portables as customers do seem to be taking to the unibody models. It's not clear from the report whether the blossoming netbook category, which includes a sizable chunk of machines shipped with a flavor of Linux, counts entirely as Windows laptop sales or if it's chopped up by the shipping OS -- I'll try to find out. Update: NPD tells me that the Linux netbooks were included in the Windows sales number, but those configurations didn't make a material difference to retail sales.

Did your microeconomic purchasing plans for year's end get derailed by the macroeconomic circumstances? Let us know below.

November sales data: Mac desktops down, laptops strong originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

November sales data: Mac desktops down, laptops strong originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst: Walmart will sell 4.5 million iPhones in 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst: Walmart will sell 4.5 million iPhones in 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Morgan Stanley analysts yesterday cut AAPL's price target to $95, mostly citing the weak economy. They said that despite price cuts, extreme interest in the iPhone, Mac users' high satisfaction, and marketshare momentum for Mac sales, the quarter will be slow for Apple.

Blog Notable Calls said it wouldn't have been surprised if AAPL slipped by five points yesterday, but instead the stock gained 34 cents a share before the closing bell.

On a brighter note, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu sees promise in iPhone gift cards, according to Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog. As with any gift card, Apple collects revenue from the customer up front. However, Apple can't report the revenue until the phone is activated, which will likely be during the first quarter of next year.

Wu anticipates Apple will sell 6 million iPhone handsets during the company's fiscal Q1 2009, which includes October, November and December 2008. Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty thinks Apple will sell only 4 million that same quarter.

In the same Apple 2.0 story, Philip Elmer-DeWitt notes that Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster looked at how many units Walmart might sell, after pricing details leaked on Monday. He conjectures that each Walmart store could sell 1,284 iPhones in 2009, accounting for nearly 10 percent of Apple's worldwide iPhone sales.

AAPL was up by $2.50 or so in midday trading.

Analyst Roundup: Morgan Stanley pooh-poohs, iPhone sales looking bright originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Roundup: Morgan Stanley pooh-poohs, iPhone sales looking bright originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analysis: iTunes holds 12.6% of the US music market originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analysis: iTunes holds 12.6% of the US music market originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple met or beat analyst expectations for sales over the weekend, selling 13 Macs and 3.4 iPhones every hour, according to one Piper Jaffray estimate.

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said that Apple's Black Friday promotions helped drive retail store traffic, according to reports from distributors. Wu also noted that the iPod touch is sold out at Amazon.com, which leads him to believe that Apple could sell $10 billion worth of products this quarter.

Thomas Weisel Partners' Doug Reid got the impression that Apple sales were up from last year. He was less optimistic about Dell's retail performance at Best Buy locations, noting that salespeople there were not strongly recommending Dell models at 35 stores they checked.

Weisel analysts expect Apple to sell 2.4 million Macs during the fourth quarter.

Deutsche Bank analysts also conducted their own checks over the weekend, and found demand to be "solid," considering the current global economic woes. They expect Apple to sell 5 million iPhones this quarter, and reiterated their "buy" rating and price target of $150 per share.

AAPL was down slightly in morning trading.

Analyst Roundup: Black Friday pretty good for Apple originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Roundup: Black Friday pretty good for Apple originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BusinessWeek's Gene Marcial is gushing -- gushing -- over Apple stock, suggesting they're not only a good buying opportunity for those who already own some shares, but a good entry point for those who have never owned stock in the company.

"The case for Apple is simple: Its stock is cheap based mainly on strong earnings and sales growth, and the outlook for further expansion of sales and profits. And the stock's profile based on such benchmarks as its technical chart pattern and price-earnings ratio affirms Apple's attraction," he writes.

Marical quotes Standard & Poor's Thomas Smith, Barclays Capital's Ben Reitzes, and Needham's Charles Wolf -- all who have their own reasons to recommend buying the stock. Of 34 analysts who track the stock, 27 recommend buying and five recommend holding. Only two suggest you sell.

As of this writing, Apple was up by over $7 per share at 89.75 during a generally positive session this morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up above 8,311, an increase of 265 points.

BusinessWeek: AAPL 'ripe for the picking' originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

BusinessWeek: AAPL 'ripe for the picking' originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple shares today dropped to an intra-day 52-week low of a penny over $75, and rebounded to close at $80.49 per share. That was down 5.8 points from yesterday's close.

This marks the lowest prices for Apple stock since the introduction of the iPhone in early 2007. Many stocks lost ground today in a broad market selloff that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average down nearly 445 points.

Marketwatch.com's Rex Crum says that AAPL has lost "the iPhone premium": That is, whatever gains the company made since the introduction of the popular handset. Apple shares hit a peak of almost $203 per share late last year, but those days are long gone.

If there's a silver lining to this gray cloud, it's that now might be a good time to buy. Macworld Expo is coming in January. In years past, the stock price has risen in anticipation of product announcements at the expo, leading to a selling frenzy the day of the keynote.

Of course, past performance does not necessarily indicate future results. In this market, who knows?

AAPL hits 52-week low, cries itself to sleep originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AAPL hits 52-week low, cries itself to sleep originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Psystar gets countersuit dismissed, case heats up originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Psystar gets countersuit dismissed, case heats up originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If rumors are to believed, Apple will do its part to stimulate the economy on November 28th, also known as "Black Friday" here in the US.

Generally recognized as the start of the holiday shopping season, the day after Thanksgiving is when retailers lure shoppers out of their beds at ungodly hours with the promise of huge discounts. Yes, nothing says "let's go shopping at 5AM" like a stomach full of tryptophan.

While Apple has not revealed their Black Friday plans, analyst Ben Reitzes of Barclays Capital says he expects aggressive pricing to compete with a dismal economy and significant offers from competitors. For instance, some American big box stores are expected to drop PC prices below $300US. How will Apple do it? Twenty-five billion dollars in cash reserves and no debt certainly helps.

So go easy on the Schlitz and set your alarms for The Crack of Dawn. There are deals to be had.

Update: Yes, the image originally accompanying this post had the appointment listed on the 27th. Let's just say it was a test of your skills of observation.

Apple to be "aggressive" on Black Friday originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple to be "aggressive" on Black Friday originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan loves Apple, sales up there 39% originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Japan loves Apple, sales up there 39% originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Several analysts have been lowering their expectations for iPhone sales during the first quarter of 2009, pointing to possible cuts in the number of units manufactured, according to a series of articles by Cult of Mac's Ed Sutherland.

Barclays Capital today cut its estimate of iPhone sales to 5 million handsets, down from 6.2 million. Yesterday, BMO Capital lowered its expectations to a slightly-better 5.6 million units, but still down from an earlier estimate of 6.6 million.

On Wednesday, UBS said iPhone production could drop to 6.7 million units, down from 9 million in the last quarter. Earlier this week, FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger said that Apple could have already cut iPhone production by 40 percent.

Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes suggested that Apple could cut prices on iPhones and develop a new low-end handset to stimulate sales, taking the lead from how the iPod and iPod mini sold.

Reitzes also speculated that a low-cost laptop could sell 3.5 million units per year. It's unclear if Apple will take Reitzes' advice, as Steve Jobs said at last month's laptop event that "We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk, and our DNA will not let us ship that."

Analyst roundup: iPhone sales could drop, production cuts possible originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst roundup: iPhone sales could drop, production cuts possible originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Associated Press' Jessica Mintz notes that Apple increased its payroll by 48 percent this fiscal year, with most of the new employees starting at Apple retail stores.

The data came from Apple's 10-K filing, an annual financial document required by law for public companies (Apple has not produced a 'glossy' annual report in several years). A direct link to the PDF is available here. Steve noted yesterday morning that Apple reported sales of $3.3 billion via the iTunes store in the filing.

Apple employed 32,000 full-time employees, and 3,100 temps and contractors as of September 27, up from 21,600 and 2,100 (respectively) a year ago. Of the 11,400 new additions, 8,000 went to Apple's retail segment, while the others started elsewhere in the organization.

The filing also said that Apple spent 40 percent more on research and development this year, compared to 2007: $1.1 billion. Electronista also notes that Steve Jobs was paid $189,000 for the use of his personal jet, a gift from Apple several years ago.

Apple adds staff, boosts R&D spending in FY2008 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple adds staff, boosts R&D spending in FY2008 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple's annual SEC 10K filing showed that music-related sales increased by US$844 million (or 34%) to $3.34 billion in fiscal 2008, up from US$2.5 billion in 2007. Apple cited "heightened consumer interest in downloading third-party digital content" as the reason for the hefty increase.

Apple noted increased net sales from the iTunes Store in each of its geographic regions. An increase in the amount and types of content available at the iTunes stores was pegged as part of this growth.

Apple's 10K filing shows $3.34 billion in 2008 iTunes sales originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple's 10K filing shows $3.34 billion in 2008 iTunes sales originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to the San Jose Mercury News, no evidence has been found to support the claim that a teenager who posted a rumor online saying Steve Jobs has suffered a heart attack tried to profit from the lower stock price.

One person involved in the investigation (who declined to be identified because it's still ongoing) said the agency hasn't unearthed any trading records that show the teen benefited from the drop.

The SEC and Apple officially declined to comment. An SEC manipulation case would depend on the teenager's intentions, according to the Merc.

The initial report, posted to CNN's iReport website on October 3, was publicized Silicon Alley Insider, prompting nervous investors to sell their AAPL shares. That day, the stock fell by 5.4 percent, but recovered to close down by three percent.

Update: My apologies: I misread the lead. Entirely my fault.

Investigators: No evidence that poster of Jobs heart attack rumor profited originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Investigators: No evidence that poster of Jobs heart attack rumor profited originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T: 2.4 million 3G iPhones activated from July to September originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AT&T: 2.4 million 3G iPhones activated from July to September originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple shares were higher by over 11 points in after-hours trading following a very positive Q4 conference call where the company announced a profit of $1.26 per diluted share.

As we noted in our liveblog earlier, Apple posted a profit of $1.14 billion on revenues of $7.9 billion for the quarter. The company also said it had sold 2.6 million Macs, 11 million iPods, and 6.8 million iPhones in the three months ending September 27. It's safe to say we're past the 10 million mark for iPhone unit sales.

Apple's margins for the quarter fell by a tenth of a percent from Q3 to 34.7 percent. During the Q3 conference call, Apple was careful to mention that margins would be lower for the quarter due to a new product announcement. That guidance was out of an abundance of caution, and executives noted that all new product announcements related to that margin guidance have been made. Apple's margins this time a year ago were 1.1 percent lower, at 33.6 percent.

Steve Jobs himself was on the call, a rarity, and he crowed about how Apple sold more handsets than RIM did. He also mentioned Apple's significant cash reserves of $25 billion and lack of debt.

The conference call made no mention of the exclusion of FireWire on new MacBooks, nor any confirmation that the Mac mini line could either be seeing a refresh or end-of-life.

Apple up 11 after Q4 conference call originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple up 11 after Q4 conference call originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Q4 Earnings Call Liveblog originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple Q4 Earnings Call Liveblog originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple's Q4 earnings estimates looking good originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple's Q4 earnings estimates looking good originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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