Apple's iPhone Defies Recession as Mobile Takes Over

If anyone needed more evidence of the emergence of mobile as the interactive platform of choice in the U.S., Apple’s Q-1 earnings report should put any remaining doubts to rest. Boosted by continuing strong demand for its iPhone, Apple had its best non-holiday quarter ever, posting revenue of $8.16 billion with net quarterly profits at a tidy $1.21 billion.

All of this in the midst of a recession and while CEO Steve Jobs is absent on medical leave.

Here’s the key part of Apple’s 8-K filing late yesterday: “Unit sales of iPhone 3G have been significantly greater than sales of the first-generation iPhone. During the first quarter of iPhone 3G availability ended September 27, 2008, 6.9 million units were sold, exceeding the 6.1 million first-generation iPhone units sold in the prior five quarters combined.”

An additional 3.79 iPhone 3G were sold during Q-1.

Apple’s stock closed trading on Earth Day at $121.51/share, yielding a market cap of $108.21 billion. Not to compare apples and dead trees but shares of The New York Times ended Wednesday worth only $4.94 each, placing a market cap on the gray lady at $711.13 million. Some analysts suggested that the Times is close to insolvency, and its stock has been further downgraded to lower junk status after posting its horrifying $61.6 million loss in Q-1.

The cruel math of the stock market, therefore, says Apple is worth roughly 150 times as much as the Times.

Still, the U.S. lags behind Europe and Asia in mobile adoption, due to our extended love affir with land-bound desktops and laptops. That has been due to change for years now, which is why we are seeing these kinds of sales numbers now. The switch to mobiole is an imperative, not a choice, which is one more reason why the Times, and other media organizations will have to learn how to adapt or die during this current transition.