Apple’s 4Q, change in iPhone sales disclosure jar investors
Associated PressSAN FRANCISCO — Apple’s faithful customers aren’t snapping up iPhones quite as enthusiastically as anticipated heading into the crucial holiday shopping season. “The number of units sold during any quarter has not been necessarily representative of the underlying strength of our business,” Luca Maestri, Apple’s chief financial officer, told analysts in a conference call. “It’s like suddenly telling people that they have to start driving on the left side of the road.” Apple CEO Tim Cook also sought to reassure analysts during the conference call with an explanation that indicated the company expects to keep making more money even if iPhone sales should falter. “It doesn’t matter a lot how many units there are in there in terms of the overall value of what’s in the cart.” Analysts had expected Apple to sell 78 million iPhones during the holiday season, but now the company isn’t going to reveal whether it hit the target or not. If Apple follows that trend in the current quarter, the average iPhone price should rise above $800 for the first time in a show of people’s love affair with the device.