2014年MPACC英语阅读范例2
Apple Inc booked orders for over two million iPhone 5 models in the first 24 hours, reflecting a higher-than-expected demand for the consumer device giant's new smartphone and setting it up for a strong holiday quarter.
Apple shares rose in extended after-market trading to touch $700 per share for the first time. They have gained nearly 22 percent in the past 3-1/2 months in the build-up to the launch of the iPhone 5.
Apple said on Monday that pre-orders outstripped initial supply but it would deliver most phones as planned by Friday, the first day of delivery. Many would not be available until October, however.
It is not unusual for Apple products to sell out the first day but this time around Apple has doubled its first-day sales record. Last October, the company booked 1 million orders for the iPhone 4S, in the first 24 hours. That had beaten Apple's previous one-day record of 600,000 sales for the iPhone 4.
The strong preorders could mean a huge holiday quarter for Apple as the iPhone -- its marquee device -- accounts for half of Apple's revenue.
Apple will make initial deliveries of the iPhone 5 by September 21 in the United States and most of the major European markets, such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The phone then goes on sale on September 28 in 22 other countries.
Given the demand for the device so far and Apple's aggressive rollout of it internationally, some analysts raised their sales and earnings estimates.
"The pace of this iPhone 5 roll-out is the fastest in the iPhone's history and points to a big December quarter," said Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes, who expects Apple to sell 45.21 million iPhones in the December quarter, up 22 percent from last year. Reitzes said his estimates "could still be conservative."
Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley said he now expected Apple to ship 9 million to 10 million iPhone 5s from Friday to September 29, the last day of its fiscal 2012 year.
He also raised his earnings per share estimates for the September and December quarters to $44.32 from $43.25, and to $56.96 from $56.90, respectively.
Wall Street analysts on average expect Apple to earn $44.25 per share in the December quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S estimates.
The new phone, which will appear in stores on Friday for walk-in purchases, has a larger, 4-inch screen and is slimmer and far lighter than the previous model. The iPhone 5 supports the faster 4G network and also comes with a number of software updates, including Apple's new in-house maps feature.
Apple began taking orders for the iPhone 5 at midnight Pacific time on Friday (0700 GMT Saturday). Shipping dates for the smartphone slipped by a week within an hour of the start of preorders.
On Monday morning, Apple's U.S. store, at www.apple.com, showed preorders placed at that time would take two to three weeks to ship.
AT&T SETS SALES RECORD
Wall Street is also keeping a close eye on the supply of the smartphone.
"We still believe Apple is facing significant production constraints due to a move toward in-cell display technology, which pushes a significant amount of units into the December and March quarters," Reitzes said.
One of Apple's key suppliers for screens, Sharp Corp, is struggling with high costs and scrambling to raise funds to pay debt.
The latest iPhone comes as competition in the smartphone market has reached a fever-pitch with Apple up against phones that run on Google Inc's Android software. Android has become the most-used mobile operating system in the world, while Apple's key supplier and rival, Samsung Electronics, has taken the lead in smartphone sales.
But Apple appears to be making headway into the corporate market, a traditional stronghold of now-struggling Canadian company Research In Motion
Yahoo Inc has instituted a new corporate policy that allows employees to pick from a host of smartphones, including the iPhone 5 and Android-based phones such as Samsung's Galaxy S3. Yahoo, which previously gave out RIM's Blackberry phones, will no longer support them, according to Business Insider blog, which cited an internal memo from Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer.
Yahoo declined to comment.
AT&T, the No. 2 U.S. mobile service provider, said demand over the weekend had made the iPhone 5 the fastest-selling iPhone the company has ever offered.
AT&T did not disclose how many iPhones it had sold, but said the iPhone 5 was still available for preorder and would go on sale September 21 at AT&T retail stores.
All the phones carriers, including Verizon Communications Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp, showed delays of up to three weeks in shipping the phone.
European carriers also reported brisk sales. France Telecom's Orange said bookings for the new phone "have been very strong, breaking the records of what we saw for the iPhone 4 or 4S." But the carrier said it could deliver preorders on time.
Analysts have forecast that Apple will have sold more than 30 million iPhones, including older models, by the end of September.
相关中文资料
美国消费电子公司苹果(AAPL.O: 行情)新款智能手机iPhone 5在前24个小时预订量逾200万部,反映出市场需求高於预期,而且预示着该款手机在购物季将会有强劲表现.
苹果股价在盘後交易中首度触及700美元.在iPhone 5发布前的三个半月中,苹果股价已累计上涨近22%.
苹果周一表示,虽然预订量超出最初供货量,但大部分订单会按计划在周五出货.不过,还有许多订单要到10月才能交付.
对於苹果产品来说,首日售罄已是司空见惯,但这次的首日销量增长了一倍.去年10月iPhone 4S前24小时预订量为100万部,这一成绩曾打败之前iPhone 4单日销量60万部的纪录.
预订状况强劲或意味着苹果将收获一个丰厚的假期季度,因为其营收有半数来自iPhone.
苹果将於9月21日在美国及法国、德国、英国等多数主要欧洲市场推出iPhone 5,然後9月28日在另外22个国家上市销售.
鉴於目前的需求状况以及苹果在国际上大力推介,一些分析师上调了销售及获利预估.
"iPhone 5的上市速度是iPhone系列产品历来最快的,预示着12月当季收入颇丰,"巴克莱分析师Ben Reitzes表示.他预计苹果12月当季料出售4,521万部iPhone,较上年同期增长22%.Reitzes还称,其预估"可能仍然保守".
Canaccord Genuity分析师Michael Walkley表示,他目前预计苹果周五至9月29日将出货900-1,000万部iPhone 5.9月29日是该公司2012会计年度的最後一天.
他还将9月当季和12月当季的每股盈余预估分别上调至44.32美元和56.96美元,此前预估为43.25美元和56.90美元.
根据汤森路透I/B/E/S预估,华尔街分析师平均预期苹果12月当季每股盈余为44.25美元.
AT&T称iPhone 5销售创纪录
华尔街亦密切关注这款智能手机的供应情况.
"我们仍然认为,苹果面临严重的产量限制,因其采用in-cell萤幕技术,故大量出货的时间将被推迟到第四季或明年第一季,"Ritzes说.
夏普(6753.T: 行情)是苹果主要的萤幕供应商,该公司目前受到本居高不下的困扰,同时正在想方设法筹资还债.
当前智能手机市场的竞争已趋白热化,苹果面临Android系列手机的激烈冲击.这类手机搭载的谷歌(GOOG.O: 行情)Android系统,是全球应用最广的手机操作系统.在智能手机销售中领先的韩国三星电子(005930.KS: 行情),既是苹果的主要供应商,亦是其竞争对手.
不过,苹果似乎正在商用市场有所斩获,该市场过去一直为加拿大Research In Motion(RIM)(RIM.TO: 行情)所牢牢掌控,而现在RIM却已陷入困境.
全美第二大移动通信服务提供商AT&T(T.N: 行情)表示,上周末强劲的需求令iPhone 5成为公司有史以来销售最快的一款iPhone手机.
欧洲运营商亦报告称iPhone销售喜人.法国电信(FTE.PA: 行情)旗下Orange称,新手机的预订"非常踊跃,打破了iPhone 4或4S的纪录."但该运营商表示,公司可以按时出货.
分析师预计,到9月底,iPhone 5以及老款iPhone手机销售量将超过3,000万部.