Apple expects sound financials the rest of the year, thanks in part to continued innovation in their hardware and software lines.
“While most of our competitors are reducing investments in research & development and head count, we’ve increased our R&D spending and feel positive about the investments [including Nothing Real and Spruce] we’ve made during the year,” Apple Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson said. “We feel that, as the economy recovers, Apple is poised to take advantage of it.”
Unlike many technology companies, Apple has seen unit shipments and revenues rise year-over-year. The company has run counter to the overall business trend and shown growth.
“This quarter we’re talking about more sequential growth,” Anderson said. “We think that in this economic environment, there are good results looking at the past quarter. And we’re looking for growth for the upcoming quarter.”
Meanwhile, the educational channel continues to be impacted by tax revenue shortfalls, so Apple is “making adjustments in their coverage model,” Anderson said. The company is seeing “significant interest” in one-on-one deployment (one mobile computer for every student and teacher) and feels this “will work in our favor,” he said.
“We feel that some of the big educational deals have deferred out from the first and second quarter to future quarters due to budget constraints,” Anderson said.
The current quarter sees the strongest K-12 sales for Apple. Though we’re only two weeks into the quarter, Anderson said all indications so far are that Apple “will do well.”
Finally, for their fiscal second quarter ended March 30, Apple saw:
Shares of Apple finished the session up 37 cents to $26.11 on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Wednesday, but fell 31 cents in after-hours trading.