Apple's Impressive Second-Quarter Results

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With strong sales of iPads, iPhones, and Macs, Apple reported a 94% increase in year-over-year sales (compared to second-quarter a year ago).

In a company news release, CEO Tim Cook said, "We're thrilled with sales of over 35 million iPhones and almost 12 million iPads in the March quarter. The new iPad is off to a great start, and across the year you're going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation that only Apple can deliver." The news comes within a month of reports that Tim Cook is the highest paid CEO, raking in $278 million last year.

The news sounds good, but a closer look at the data shows that sales are down from the first quarter (click for the PDF).

Apple data
Discussion Starters and Assignment Ideas:

  • Do you believe that Tim Cook's salary is justified? Why or why not?
  • Rewrite Apple's news release for employees. How would you adapt this message to an  internal email?
  • Imagine that you're presenting the second-quarter results as part of a PowerPoint presentation to shareholders. Convert the table to a few charts to show the results more visually. Which data would you choose to include?