Apple Music Offers 50 Million Songs on American Airlines

Apple Music subscribers can benefit from access to over 50 million songs, playlists and music videos on domestic American Airline flights equipped with Viasat satellite WiFI without Wi-Fi purchase.

Image via Apple

“Our guests want to make the most of their time when flying us. That’s why we’re investing in faster Wi-Fi, a variety of entertainment options, and why we’re so excited to introduce Apple Music to more of our customers. Providing customers with more ways to stay connected throughout each flight is one way to show we value their business and the time they spend with us.”

— Janelle Anderson, VP Global Marketing, American Airlines

American Airlines is the first commercial airline to offer exclusive access to Apple Music through complimentary inflight Wi-Fi. To connect, just open the complimentary inflight Wi-Fi and open Apple Music. Listen to your library, the Beats 1 Global Livestream or curated playlists. Sit back, relax and enjoy your flight. applemusic.com/americanairlines

Image via Apple

““For most travelers, having music to listen to on the plane is just as important as anything they pack in their suitcases. With the addition of Apple Music on American flights, we are excited that customers can now enjoy their music in even more places. Subscribers can stream all their favorite songs and artists in the air, and continue to listen to their personal library offline, giving them everything they need to truly sit back, relax and enjoy their flight.”

— Oliver Schusser, VP, Apple Music

Apple Music subscribers can enjoy exclusive content access such as in-depth artist interviews and live music via Beats 1 global airstream. Apple continues to grow Apple Music with new acquisitions such as Platoon in London. Customers who do not have Apple Music subscriptions, can sign up during the flight and receive free access for three months. Apple Music is now available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Apple TV, PC, Android, CarPlay, HomePod, Sonos and Amazon Echo.  

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Apple Reported $84.3 B Earnings for 2018 Holiday Quarter, with Lowered iPhone Sales

While iPhone Revenue Took a 15 Percent Hit, Apple’s Active User Base Increases to 1.4 B devices and Service Revenue is Booming

Image via Apple

Last week, Apple reported its financial results for the 2018 holiday season and last quarter, ending in December. While the company warned that the earnings would be less due to declining iPhone sales of 15 percent less, Apple nonetheless posted its second-best earnings and revenue in history.

Highlights include:

• Revenue $84.3 billion (of which $52 billion was from iPhone sales).
• Earnings per share (EPS) increase to $4.18.
• Services revenue continues to grow, up to $10.9 billion.
• 1.4 billion active devices installed by users by end of quarter.
• Apple Music has over 50 million paying subscribers.
• App Store sets new single-day record with $322 million processed on New Year’s Day.
• 1.8 billion Apple Pay transactions in last quarter (up more than 2 times the year prior).
• Apple Pay coming to Target, Taco Bell and Jack in the Box stores (now available).
• Apple News has over 85 million monthly active users in US, UK, and Australia, setting new record.
• Apple News is launching in Canada in English and French this quarter.
• Apple has 360 million paid subscriptions across its services.
• Apple expects to surpass 500 million paid subscribers across its services in 2020.
• Apple remains on track to double its fiscal 2016 services revenue by 2020.
• Gross margin was 34.3% for hardware products and 62.8% for services.
• Apple ended the quarter with $245 billion in cash plus marketable securities.
• Apple’s wearables revenue is driven by Apple Watch and AirPods. Wearables category is "approaching the size of a Fortune 200 company."
• iPhone XR is best selling iPhone model, followed by iPhone XS Max and then iPhone XS.

During the call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “I do think price is a factor” in declining iPhone upgrades as users are more likely to hold on to their devices now for longer periods of time. To address pricing concerns abroad as a strong U.S. dollar has made newer models out of reach for many consumers abroad, Apple is offering a different pricing model for consumers in certain countries. While the earnings were less than last year’s with an earnings per share of $3.89, the newest earnings report did show an increase in earnings per share to $4.18. Thus, the figures reveal a year-on-year decline of 5 percent on revenue with an increase of 7.5 percent on earnings per share. 

Services revenue continues to grow, up to $10.9 billion, up 19 percent from the year before. Mac revenue hit an all-time high of $7.4 billion, growing 9 percent year-over-year, while the "wearables, home and accessories" category reached $7.3 billion, up 33 percent from 2018. Revenue from iPad also grew to $6.7 billion in the first quarter, up 17 percent year-over-year. 

Interestingly enough, Apple's new "Wearables, Home and Accessories" segment, now pulls in more revenue than Apple's iPad business and will soon surpass the Mac. This new segment formerly called “Other Products” includes the Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, Apple TV, Beats, iPod touch and other accessories.  

“While it was disappointing to miss our revenue guidance, we manage Apple for the long term, and this quarter’s results demonstrate that the underlying strength of our business runs deep and wide. Our active installed base of devices reached an all-time high of 1.4 billion in the first quarter, growing in each of our geographic segments. That’s a great testament to the satisfaction and loyalty of our customers, and it’s driving our Services business to new records thanks to our large and fast-growing ecosystem.”

— Tim Cook, Apple CEO

Apple had taken the unusual step to warn investors about the expected loss of revenue on January 2nd, predicting quite accurately, expected revenue of $84 billion instead of the previously anticipated $89-$93 billion figures laid out in November of 2018. The stock had taken a beating as a result. Nonetheless, right before Apple’s announcement of its actual earnings report, consensus on Wall Street from Morgan Stanley to Macquarie Research, JP Morgan,  TF Industries, Alliance Bernstein, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Piper Jaffray, Canaccord Genuity, Loup Ventures and BTIG, was that an earnings per share of around $4.17 could be expected.

This was also the first quarter where Apple’s new policy of no longer providing sales figures for the iPhone, Mac and iPad, is in effect. Apple continues to provide details regarding sales growth, revenue, and guidance, but no longer uses the iPhone or other product unit sales as the predominant indicator of the company’s growth and fiscal success. The company has expected to have multiple offerings such as Services and expected new income via subscriptions such as Apple Music, Apple News and new video content in 2019 and beyond. Apple will provide an update on its capital return program in March earnings report.

“Three things stand out long term: loyal and satisfied customers, large and growing active installed base, and deeply engrained culture of innovation. ”

— Tim Cook, Apple CEO

For the first fiscal quarter of 2019, Apple predicts revenue of $55-$59 billion with a gross margin of 37-38 percent and operating expenses of $8.5-$8.6 billion and a tax rate of 17 percent. Download consolidated statements here.

Live streaming of Apple’s investor call is available at www.apple.com/investor/earnings-call/ for approximately two weeks after the announcement on January 29th.

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Apple Entrepreneur Week Kicks Off, App Earnings Hit New Highs

As Apple’s inaugural entrepreneur camp kicks off with 11 female founded app companies, app developer earnings cross new threshold. App developer earnings reach $120 billion since the 2008 App Store launch, an additional $20 billion in earnings since last summer alone.

On January 28th of this year, Apple opened its doors to attendees of its new entrepreneur camp - an innovative program designed to provide female app creators with the tools needed to thrive in today’s global app economy. A two-week immersive hands-on technology lab, the Entrepreneur Camp helps participants work on their apps with help directly from Apple experts. The program also has sessions on design, technology and App Store marketing. Each student also gets ongoing guidance and support from an Apple Developer Relations representative for a year. The curriculum encourages developers to use the latest Apple technologies such as optimizing for the A12 Bionic chip, integrating Core ML, building ARKit experiences and more. Each participating company will also receive two tickets to WWDC and complementary membership to the Apple Developer Program for one year.

“The App Store is the new digital Main Street, and creative developers are tapping into the vast potential of the global app economy.”

— Esther Hare, Apple Senior Director

“In the past, starting a small business often meant having to invest in overhead, inventory or retail space. Today, a world of opportunity opens up with some coding skills and an entrepreneurial spirit,” said Esther Hare, Apple’s senior director, Worldwide Developer Marketing and executive sponsor, Women@Apple. “The App Store is the new digital Main Street, and creative developers are tapping into the vast potential of the global app economy. We hope that this program helps to inspire women around the world to learn to code, join the iOS development community and share in the thriving app economy.”

The new camp will be held on a quarterly basis with up to 20 app companies accepted. Admission to the select program requires an app submitted by a female founded company with at least one woman on the product development team. More details are available here: developer.apple.com/entrepreneur-camp.

For this first session, the apps that have been selected include Bites by Warehouse Apps LLC; Camille by Ohhh, Inc.; CUCO: Lembrete de Medicamentos by CUCO Health; Deepr by Mental Mobile, LLC; D’efekt by Tatevik Gasparyan, Nané Toumanian and Vahagn Khachikyan; Hopscotch by Hopscotch Technologies; LactApp by LactApp Women Health; Pureple by Iceclip LLC; Statues of the La Paz Malecón by Estudio Chispa; WeParent by FamTerra Inc.; and Seneca Connect by Seneca Women.

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