Apple to stop disclosing iPhone, iPad, Mac unit sales each quarter

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

• Apple is going to stop disclosing how many iPhones,
  iPads, and Macs it sells each quarter.
• The news comes right after Apple announced earnings for
  its most recent quarter — a quarter where it beat on earnings
  and revenue, but whiffed big on iPhone sales. 
• The company’s stock has dropped as much as 7% in
  after-hours trading.

Apple’s sales figures are about to get a lot less transparent.

On Thursday, the company announced on its
quarterly earnings call that it will stop breaking out the
number of iPhones, iPads, and Macs it sells in each
quarter. 

The surprising news comes
after Apple failed to hit Wall Street’s expectations for iPhone
sales in the most recent quarter, which sent the stock
plummeting about 5%. The announcement from Apple
CFO Luca Maestri sent the company’s share price
plunging even further, and as of writing it now hovers about 7%
down from market close. 

“As we have stated many times, our objective is to make
great products and services that enrich people’s lives, and to
provide an unparalleled customer experience, so that our users
are highly satisfied, loyal, and engaged,” Maestri said.

“As we accomplish these objectives, strong financial
results follow. As demonstrated by our financial performance in
recent years, the number of units sold in any 90-day period is
not necessarily representative of the underlying strength of our
business.”

Apple will still report the revenues brought in from the
sales of each device type.

Apple sold 46.9 million iPhones in the quarter, barely
growing 0.4% on the year prior, and well below analysts’
expectations of 48.4 million. Quarterly revenues ($62.9 billion)
and earnings per share ($2.91) both beat expectations, but the
iPhone whiff — combined with a revenue forecast  for the
holiday quarter that was lower than some analyst expectations —
seems to have spooked investors. 

Meanwhile, iPad sales were down 6% on last year, to 9.6
million, which Mac unit sales were flat, at 5.3 million.

Notably, this move also comes
just days after Apple unveiled new gadgets, including a
revamped MacBook Air laptop and redesigned iPad Pro
tablet. 

Here are all the key numbers:

• Q4 EPS: $2.91, up 40% year-over-year, versus
  expectations of $2.78
• Q4 Revenue: $62.9 billion, up 19.5%
  year-over-year, versus expectations of $61.44 billion
• Gross margin: 38.2%, up 0.7% year-over-year,
  versus expectations of 38.3%
• iPhone units sold: 46.9 million, up 0.4%
  year-over-year, versus expectations of 48.4 million
• iPhone average sales price: $793, up 28%
  year-over-year, versus expectations of $729
• iPad units sold: 9.6 million, down 6%
  year-over-year
• Mac units sold: 5.3 million,
  flat year-over-year
• Q1 2018 guidance: Between $89 billion and $93
  billion versus consensus expectation of $92.74 billion