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When Steve Jobs analyzed the Amazon.com Kindle in 2009, he pointed to the online retailer's decision not to report unit sales of its reading device as evidence that it did not sell much.
Nearly ten years later, Apple is following a similar path. The company announced that it would stop disclosing data on the number of iPhone, iPad and Mac devices sold, thus eliminating the performance indicators provided since the 1980s.
This change comes as the growth in the number of iPhones sold slows, as customers increasingly hang on to smartphones. Apple has responded by promoting software and services on all its devices and increasing the price of new gadgets.
Investors have hesitated about the change of ratio and income forecasts lower than Wall Street estimates. On Friday, the elimination of unit sales data contributed to the 6.6% drop in shares as the company lost $ 71.19 billion in market value in a single day.
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"Apple's commitment to privacy now applies to the disclosure of iPhone units," writes Amit Daryanani of RBC Capital Markets in a note to investors. In an interview, he said the change meant that many shareholders now think that Apple is hiding something. "It's a monkey on the back," he said.
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at an event to announce new products on Tuesday, October 30, 2018 in Brooklyn, New York.
(AP)
Mike Levin, co-founder of Consumer Intelligence Research Partners LLC, a market research firm surveying Apple customers, said the change shows Apple executives are considering their business in a way they do not want say aloud.
"When Apple was doing well, sales to the unit told a wonderful story. Now that the story is not so good, they say, "Let's change it," he said.
Mr. Jobs could agree. "Usually, if they sell a lot, you want to tell everyone," Apple's co-founder told the New York Times nine years ago, criticizing Amazon's Kindle.
Learn more about the Wall Street Journal, where this story was originally written, by clicking here.
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