Tim Cook Tells White Supremacists They ‘Have No Home’ on Apple Platforms
The Wrap
Apple didn’t make as much as it did last year off its trademark device — and Wall Street doesn’t seem to mind one bit.The tech giant reported iPhone revenue dropped 17% year-over-year when it shared its second quarter financials on Tuesday afternoon, but Apple’s stock still spiked in after-hours trading, after the company posted a record $11.5 billion in Services revenue.For the three months ended March 30, Apple reported revenue of $58 billion, slightly edging analyst estimates of $57.37 billion. Its earnings of $2.46 per share also beat analyst projections of $2.36 EPS. Revenue decreased 5% year-over-year.Also Read: Will Apple News+ Cannibalize Traditional Media the Way iTunes Did Music Labels?Apple stopped sharing how many iPhones it sold earlier this year, but the company still reports quarterly revenue from the device. The iPhone contributed $31.1 billion in Q2 revenue, down from the $37.6 billion Apple made off the device during the same period last year.Services revenue — which includes sales of apps, movies and music, among other offerings — increased 16 percent year-over-year from the $9.8 billion Apple pulled during Q2 2018.Apple shares increased 5% in after-hours trading to $210 per share. The company is on the verge of once again hitting a $1 trillion market cap, after becoming the first company to do so last August.Also Read: Stream Fatigue? Streaming Subscriptions Drop So Far This Year - Just as Apple, Disney Prepare to Enter MarketWall Street was most likely giving a thumbs up to Apple offering Q3 guidance of $52.5 billion of $54.5 billion in revenue, higher than analysts had forecasted, as well as a $75 billion share repurchase. Apple also increased its dividend 5% to 77 cents per share.“Our March quarter results show the continued strength of our installed base of over 1.4 billion active devices, as we set an all-time record for Services, and the strong momentum of our Wearables, Home and Accessories category, which set a new March quarter record,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. “We delivered our strongest iPad growth in six years, and we are as excited as ever about our pipeline of innovative hardware, software and services. We’re looking forward to sharing more with developers and customers at Apple’s 30th annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June.”Apple’s $10.2 billion in Q2 sales in China was a clear drop from the $13 billion it made during the same period last year, but Cook, in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, was optimistic “things are getting a bit better” in the market. Cook pointed to strong end-of-quarter iPhone sales, as well as its Wearables business continuing to gain traction, as reasons to believe Chinese revenue will bounce back.Also Read: Facebook Gets a Facelift, Launches Redesigned App and WebsiteThe company’s massive cash hoard — something that seems to grab the attention of investors each quarter — was $225.4 billion at the end of Q2, a drop from the $245 billion it had at the end of the first quarter.Apple recently unveiled several new features, including Apple TV+, its upcoming streaming service with original content from Hollywood heavy-hitters like Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams. At a glitzy event last month at its Cupertino, Calif. headquarters, Cook said the service will feature its slate of original shows, be available in more than 100 countries and be accessible via Apple TV. Other key details — like how much the service will cost — went noticeably unmentioned.At the same event, Apple revealed Apple News+, a $10 per month subscription magazine service that provides access to 300 top outlets, as well as limited content from The Wall Street Journal. Apple Arcade, a gaming subscription service, was also announced.The array of new services comes as the tech behemoth has seen iPhone sales stagnate. Apple, of course, still makes a killing on its most popular device, but customers are waiting longer than ever to upgrade their devices. Apple is likely looking at its new offerings as a way to continue growing its second-biggest source of revenue — its wide-ranging Services business.Despite weaker-than-expected iPhone sales to begin the year, Apple shareholders have enjoyed a strong start to 2019, with its stock price increasing more than 25% since early January.Read original story Apple’s iPhone Sales Drop Sharply, But Stock Jumps on Record Services Revenue At TheWrap
Apple CEO Tim Cook has a clear message for white supremacists looking to spew their hate on his platforms: Take a hike.
Receiving the first “Courage Against Hate” award from the Anti-Defamation League, Cook took what could be deemed as an unveiled swipe at Facebook and other tech companies currently under fire for being too slow to eradicate hate speech and misinformation on their platforms.
“At Apple, we believe technology needs to have a clear point of view,” Cook said in an acceptance speech. “This is no time to get tied up in knots. We only have one message for those who seek to push hate, division or violence: You have no place on our platforms. You have no home here.”
Cook went on to say: “From the earliest days of iTunes to Apple Music today we have always prohibited music with a history of white supremacy. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. And as we showed this year, we won’t give a platform to violent conspiracy theorists. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do.”
In August, Apple yanked several podcasts from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones off of iTunes. Facebook, YouTube and Spotify soon followed suit. Twitter, which resisted the move at first, eventually joined the ban.
“We believe the future should belong to those who use technology to build a better, more inclusive and more hopeful world,” Cook said. “I believe the most sacred thing that each of us is given is our judgment, our morality, our own innate desire to separate right from wrong. Choosing to set that responsibility aside in a moment of trial is a sin.”
Last year, Cook blasted President Trump’s response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in an email to employees and pledged to donate $2 million to organizations battling hate groups.
“What occurred in Charlottesville has no place in our country,” the email said, according to BuzzFeed, which obtained a copy. “Hate is a cancer, and left unchecked it destroys everything in its path. Its scars last generations. History has taught us this time and time again, both in the United States and countries around the world.”
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