Slashdot Mirror


The Leap Week: Did Apple Really Have a Record Quarter? (lapcatsoftware.com)

An anonymous reader shares a blog post: Apple stated that Q1 FY2017 was an all-time record for quarterly revenue. The media dutifully and mostly uncritically spread this "great" news for Apple. Technically the claim is true, the revenue was an all-time record. True but misleading. Although Apple didn't lie as such, you might say there was a sin of omission, and a definite spin of the facts. Most Apple fiscal quarters are 13 weeks long. Once in a while, however, they need a 14 week quarter. You might call it a "leap quarter". There was a good explanation of this financial practice a few years ago in Slate. Apple's Q1 2017 was a 14 week quarter, for the first time since Q1 2013. John Gruber writes at DaringFireball, "Adjusted for the extra week, Apple actually had another down quarter."

1 of 53 comments (clear)

  1. Leap Week + Reduced Competition by PortHaven · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So when you combine an extra week, in combination with a quarter in which your #1 rival fails to deliver their competing phone leaving a gap in the 2.5 year upgrade pattern. Yup...

    The quarter that the Samsung S8/Note 8 arrive will be much different and more realistic.