EE Times Computing Blog
by Rick Merritt
Computing Editor
The hidden story in Apple's latest SEC filings has nothing to do with the fuss over back-dated stock options and everything to do with its transformation into a consumer electronics company.
Apple sold $7.67 billion in iPods in its last fiscal year ending in September 2006, edging out for the first time revenue from Macintosh computers which hit $7.37 million. In 2005, Mac sales were still the biggest slice of Apple's pie at $6.2 billion versus $4.5 billion for iPods. But sales of iPods increased a whopping $3.1 billion or 69 percent during 2006 while Mac sales increased $1.1 billion or a more stately 18 percent during 2006 compared to 2005.
The iPod has long outsold the Mac in terms of raw units. In 2005 Apple was approaching sales of 20 times more iPods than Macs. Today the ratio is approach 40 to 1.
Money talks, and the heady $3.1 billion growth in iPod sales in 2006 is amazing. So it's official, Apple—the first successful computer company--is a consumer electronics company now.
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