Apple Announces Less of a Loss -- Apple released its financial results covering the company's first fiscal quarter of 2001, posting a better-than-expected net loss of $195 million. This is Apple's first quarterly loss in three years. As expected, the company gained $49 million by dipping into the seemingly bottomless barrel of ARM Holdings, plc. shares, selling 3.8 million, and by selling 1 million shares of Akamai Technologies stock. Excluding the investment gains and adjustments made to Apple's bottom line through accounting moves, the net loss would have been $247 million, in line with the company's earnings pre-announcement in December. The company shipped 659,000 Macs during the quarter, a significant drop compared to the 1.12 million units sold in the previous quarter and nearly 1.4 million systems sold in the first quarter of 2000. On a positive note, CEO Steve Jobs and CFO Fred Anderson reiterated Apple's strong cash position of more than $4 billion and reported that channel inventories have been improved to about five and a half weeks. Anderson also said that Apple expects revenues for 2001 to be about $6 billion, in line with 1999's $6.1 billion, but well below 2000's $7.98 billion. [JLC]

<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2001/jan/ 17q1results.html>
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2000/dec/ 05q1results.html>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/06154>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/05777>