Apple’s iPhone generated more revenue during the fiscal 2012 first quarter than all of Microsoft. (iPhone: $24.42 billion in revenue, all of Microsoft: $20.89 billion.)
Joe Wilcox, reporting for BetaNews:
In case you missed it, and I certainly would have if not for someone asking a question, Apple’s fiscal 2012 first quarter earnings report has a jaw dropper. iPhone generated $24.42 billion revenue. During the same quarter, all of Microsoft: $20.89 billion. More broadly, Apple revenue ($46.33 billion) was more than twice Microsoft’s, and net income nearly was ($13.06 billion versus $6.62 billion, respectively). But it’s that iPhone figure that really stands out. One product’s revenues against an entire company’s. Microsoft’s margins are better, but who wouldn’t want more money in the bank?
Nearly five years ago, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer dismissed iPhone, in a USA Today interview: “There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It’s a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I’d prefer to have our software in 60 percent or 70 percent or 80 percent of them, than I would to have 2 percent or 3 percent, which is what Apple might get”. How’s that for the mother of wrong predictions?
Microsoft’s Windows Phone share among US subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter: 1.4 percent. Apple’s iOS market share: 37 percent.
Wilcox continues, “But it’s not just iPhone. Apple did something remarkable during fourth quarter — Mac sales grew during three months when PC shipments were their worst in a decade, according to IDC. Apple sold 5.2 million Macs, generating $6.6 billion — or more revenue than any single Microsoft division. Closest: Office at $6.28 billion.”
Just two years ago Apple reported $15.68 billion in revenue with a net profit of $3.38 billion. Now two years later, Apple has almost tripled revenue, and nearly quadrupled earnings. Amazing.
Now, let’s share a moment in time with Steve Ballmer: