In the past six months, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock has fallen about 30%, numerous articles questioning Apple’s direction have appeared, and hedge fund manager and investor David Einhorn filed a lawsuit against the company. But in 2012, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold a boatload of phones and tablets, it generated gobs of money from its retail stores, and it grew its already huge pile of cash even bigger. Apple’s stock may be slipping, but these numbers show the company’s still moving in the right direction.
Shipping like there’s no tomorrow
Earlier this week, Strategy Analytics released a reportshowing Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) took the No. 1 and No. 2 spot for most smartphone units shipped in Q4 2012. Samsung came in third place, arguably a distant third considering its Galaxy S III didn’t topple the iPhone 5 or the iPhone 4S.
Here’s how sales panned out for both companies the last quarter of 2012:
Source: Strategy Analytics.
The Galaxy S III was the world’s best-selling phone in Q3 of last year, but quickly lost that spot in the fourth quarter. Total iPhone shipments accounted for one in five of all global smartphones shipped in Q4 2012. With Samsung launching its new Galaxy S IV next month, it has a new chance to topple Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s top spot (though Samsung will have to leapfrog two spots to accomplish that goal).
Snatching up tech revenue
When it comes to tech revenue, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung continue to battle it out — but Apple has the upper hand. NPD Group released a report a few weeks ago showing U.S. tech consumers prefer to spend their money on tablets and smartphones with an apple on the back.
Source: NPD.
From 2011 to 2012, Apple’s share of U.S. tech revenue sales increased about 2.6%, Samsung’s increased about 2.3%, while Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)‘s shares all decreased.
Stores galore
Aside from Apple’s strong sales and digital presence, the company also dominates the physical retail tech space. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has about 400 stores worldwide, with 250 in the U.S. alone, and it’s opening up 30 morethis year. Store numbers obviously aren’t sales, but in the case of Apple, they translate into sales pretty well. In Q1 2013, Apple stores brought in $6.4 billion in revenue, with $1.6 billion in profit. Apple also saw 120 million people in its stores this quarter and about 370 million people visited them in 2012.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) leaves the competition far behind when it comes to its store numbers, so a graph is hardly fair, but it helps to see the comparison.
Sources: Apple and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Chrome Zone stores not counted because they only showcase products and don’t sell them.
According to Retail Sails, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) makes $6,050 for each square foot of floor space in its stores. Maybe that’s why Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is currently making a retail push with more locations opening up. Rumors are also flying that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) will open its own retail stores soon. Google experimented with Chrome Zone stores inside other retail and public locations recently, but didn’t sell products directly through the stores.
Stacks and stacks
Perhaps the most impressive of all of AAPL’s figures is its enormous pile of cash. The company has $137 billion in its coffers right now, and $47 billion in free cash flow has come in the past year alone. Apple’s cash figure can be hard number to visualize, so let’s look at a chart to compare Apple’s current cash amount with PC-maker HP’s revenue from 2012.
