Show is going on!

Apple reported its highest quarterly revenue and profits number ever. It briefly surpassed  Exon Mobil as the most valuable company in the world. Its cash reserves are sufficient to buy the top tech companies (refer pic) at 10% premium. Its revenues are greater than GDP of 105 countries in the world. And its profits are equivalent to the profit of Google, Intel, Microsoft and Yahoo combined. The picture below from WSJ summarizes it accurately.

Putting this into perspective with something I wrote in 2009 - The show must go on. Well indeed the show is going on.  Since then Apple's revenue have grown from a modest $10 Billion to $46billion in the quarter ending 31st Dec 2011. Cash reserves have grown from $28 billion to $97 Billion and gross margins have increased substantially.

And of course the juggernaut keeps amazing us each day. Apple has continuously kept changing their business model before people could fathom and created an enchanting eco-sphere for all their products and services. IT JUST WORKS!! And thats where the idiosyncratic Steve comes in. He was able to see/approve the model, much before anyone else could. Tim Cook, handpicked by Steve Jobs himself has taken over the reigns seamlessly. And he is got a tremendous team in Phil, Scott, Oppenheimer and Williams to take on the mantle. 

But its still too early to do away with the concerns raised in my earlier post - The current product portfolio and product pipeline can easily sustain the momentum for roughly another 2-3 years. And things will be pretty smooth till that time. Apple though needs to continously reign over and change the paradigm as it has been doing. It has got some amazing people who are capable of doing that but will they be crazy enough to do it? The answer I am hoping will be YES!!

P.S: I had a brief debate with Ankush on which company has bigger impact on our lives - Apple or Google. Well my obvious answer is Apple simply because they created the PC world in which the need for Google arose. And even if people don't use Apple products directly most of the tech products today are reflection of Apple's though leadership in design and technology. So, vote you heart out  on the Poll available on the right nav of the blog. 

The show must go on

Apple reported strong quarter results that were driven by strong Mac sales and better-than-expected iPod sales. Apple beat analyst estimates and its guidance of last quarter but its outlook was short of analysts’ estimates. It has shown amazing resilience in an economy reeling badly under recession where consumer spending has taken a hit considering Apple's main customers are not corporates but end consumers.

Apple posted record revenue of $10.17 billion, a 5.8% growth, and net income grew 2% to $1.61 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.39 on sales of $9.76 billion. Apple had forecast revenue between $9 and 10 billion and EPS between $1.06 and $1.35. Gross margin was 34.7%, same as last quarter. Cash flow from operations was over $3.9 billion, and Apple ended the quarter with $28.1 billion in cash reserves.

But there is a certain incertitude looming around Apple's leadership that is a big concern right now. Though nobody knows the real picture, the five month long leave taken by Steve Jobs has shaken many in the industry and many fans. Well someday, Steve Jobs is bound to retire and when he comes back (which we all hope he does), he should be seriously thinking about whom the make responsible. He started this company and I am sure his final dream would be that Apple keeps surprising the world and changing it with or without him. That's what he stands for and I guess wants to be remembered for long after he is gone.

Though Apple will surely miss his crazy leadership style and make-a-dent-in-the-universe attitude, I am sure the very culture that makes Apples stand apart has sunk in deep into the senior management. The last thing we need is Apple choosing another John Sculley. We all know that Steve Jobs has softened a bit and has become much more diplomatic and shed the flippant image he had before he was fired from Apple but at the core he still remains a guy irreverent to the status quo, with an urge to change the world. Though most of the credit he got for turning around the company when he took over reins of Apple in 1997 goes to Gil Amelio (Apple's CEO before him), he was still instrumental in getting the act of Apple together and creating some revolutionary products and moving Apple from a me-too company to a follow-me company. Apple needs a leadership who understands this culture and takes it to another level.

So Steve - "Get Well Soon" and get back soon and find a worthy successor who can "Think Different" the way you and your team did. Because with or without you - The show must go on.