好英语网消费者推迟购买导致苹果股价大跌
It looks like many people are so sure the next iPhone is going to be good that they’re not buying the ones Apple is selling now.
似乎许多人都确信，下一代iPhone将很出色，因此他们不去购买苹果公司(Apple)目前销售的产品。
A lot of companies would love to have that problem — if you can call it a problem, given that Apple still managed to sell 28 percent more iPhones last quarter than it did a year earlier.
鉴于苹果第二季度的iPhone销量仍然比去年同期提高了28%，很多公司都想要拥有同样的问题——如果能称之为问题的话。
Yet it in the world of outsize expectations that envelops Apple, it still contributed to a rare earnings disappointment from the company.
但是，在苹果为过高预期所包围的世界里，这一因素仍然使得公司盈利罕见地令人失望。
史蒂夫·P·乔布斯创立苹果大学的目的是向员工灌输苹果的商业文化，并传授公司的历史，特别是公司的发展和技术经济的变革。
In response to the earnings report on Tuesday, Apple investors registered their unhappiness with the results by sending its shares down more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. In the regular session, the stock fell 2.9 percent, to $600.92.
周二，作为对盈利报告的回应，苹果投资者表达了他们对结果的不满，盘后交易中，公司股价的下挫幅度超过了5%。在常规交易时间里，股价下跌至600.92美元，跌幅为2.9%。
The iPhone appeared to be the main issue. In a now-familiar pattern, analysts have been warning of potential weakness in iPhone sales because of the likelihood that the company would introduce a new version of the phone sometime in the fall. Apple invariably brings out a new model around that time, and the anticipation can cause many phone shoppers to delay their purchases, leading to a surge in the holiday quarter.
似乎主要的问题来自于iPhone自身。按照现已为人熟知的模式，分析师近期一直发出警告称，由于苹果可能于秋季某一时间点推出新版手机，iPhone当前的销量可能走软。苹果一贯在秋季前后发布新产品，这样的预期会使许多手机消费者推迟购买，从而导致第四季度的销量激增。
In a conference call with analysts, Apple executives blamed economic weakness in Europe, Australia, Brazil and other countries for some of the shortfall in iPhone sales. But the company also said that the widespread chatter about whatever smartphone it will sell next was a significant factor.
在与分析师的电话会议中，苹果高管将iPhone销售业绩的不足归咎于欧洲、澳大利亚、巴西和其他一些国家的经济疲软。但苹果称，关于公司下一步将销售的某种智能手机的广泛传言，也是一个重要因素。
“We’re reading the same rumors and speculation you are about a new iPhone,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s chief financial officer.
“关于新iPhone，我们和你们听到同样的流言和猜测。”苹果首席财务官彼得·奥本海默(Peter Oppenheimer)称。
In the past, Apple has felt the pain of delayed iPhone purchases most acutely in the summer quarter that ends in late September, but it can also start before then. “We’re seeing it earlier than ever,” said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, who predicted Apple would sell 29 million iPhones, rather than the 26 million it ended up reporting.
过去，推迟购买行为会在9底月结束的夏季季度对苹果产生最大影响，但是推迟效应也可能提前开始。Piper Jaffray的分析师基尼·蒙斯特(Gene Munster)称，“这次我们看到得比以往都早。”他曾预计苹果iPhone的销量为2900万台，而不是公司公布出来的2600万台。
It’s possible Apple is losing some business to other smartphones, most likely devices running Google’s Android operating system, which have built up a substantial following. But Apple is still expected to gain market share this year. Apple’s share among smartphone users in the United States is expected to reach 31 percent in 2012, up from 30 percent last year, according to eMarketer, a firm that compiles data from technology research firms.
另外的可能就是其他智能手机夺走了苹果的部分业务。运行谷歌公司(Google)Android操作系统的设备获得了很多人的喜爱，因而最有可能做到这一点。但是，预计苹果今年仍将扩大市场份额。根据eMarketer的分析，苹果在美国智能手机市场的份额将从去年的30%上升至2012年的31%。eMarketer是一家汇总科技研究公司数据的机构。
Rob Cihra, an analyst at Evercore Partners, said the iPhone was increasingly evolving into a business that has two quarters of gigantic sales, followed by two weaker ones, in which customers wait patiently for a new model. But Mr. Cihra said it would be far more worrisome if customers didn’t show so much enthusiasm about Apple’s next move.
Evercore Partners的分析师罗布·西拉(Rob Cihra)称，iPhone的商业模式越来越演化为两个季度销售强劲、随后两个季度较为逊色，因为此时消费者耐心等待新型号上市。但西拉也称，如果消费者对苹果下一步的行动没有显示出如此高涨的热情，就会更加让人担忧。
“That’s the price of having an incredibly popular consumer product,” he said.
他说，“当你拥有一款流行得不可思议的消费产品时，这就是要付出的代价。”
Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said there was not much Apple can do about the phenomenon beyond trying to keep its plans secret. “I’m glad people want the next thing,” he said. “I’m not going to put any energy into trying to get people to stop speculating.”
苹果首席执行官蒂莫西·D·库克(Timothy D. Cook)称，除了试着对公司计划保密，苹果对这种现象也束手无策。库克说，“我很高兴人们渴求下一代产品。我不会浪费任何精力去尝试平息人们的猜测。”
The newest pillar of Apple’s business, the iPad, has started to take some of the pressure off the iPhone to dazzle investors every quarter. For the fiscal third quarter ended June 30, Apple said it sold 17 million iPads, bringing in revenue of $9.17 billion, compared with nine million iPads and $6.05 billion in revenue a year ago.
苹果最新的支柱产品iPad 已经开始帮iPhone卸下一部分的压力，使它不用独自去满足投资者的过高期望。在6月30日结束的第三财季中，苹果销售了1700万台iPad，由此带来的营收达到91.7亿美元，而去年同期的销量为900万台，营收为60.5亿美元。
Those sales got a lift from a new version of the iPad with a higher-resolution display that Apple introduced in March. The iPad now accounts for 26 percent of Apple’s total revenue.
这些销售业绩因为新版iPad得到了提升。苹果三月份推出了全新iPad，它配置了更高分辨率的显示屏。目前，iPad在苹果总营收中的份额为26%。
Mr. Cook added that Apple would release the latest version of its Mac operating system, Mountain Lion, on Wednesday.
库克补充说道，苹果将于周三发布最新版的Mac操作系统Mountain Lion。
Apple reported net income of $8.82 billion, or $9.32 a share, up from $7.31 billion, or $7.79 a share, in the period a year earlier. Revenue was $35.02 billion compared with $28.57 billion a year earlier.
苹果发布的净收入为88.2亿美元，合每股9.32美元；而去年同期的净收入为73.1亿美元，合每股净收益7.79美元。营收则为350.2亿美元，相比之下去年同期为285.7亿美元。
The figures were above the $8.68 a share in profit and $34 billion in revenue that Apple had previously forecast for the quarter. But they fell well short of the estimates of Wall Street analysts, who typically take Apple’s own forecasts with a grain of salt because of the company’s long history of underpromising and overdelivering on its financial performance.
这些数字高于苹果之前对该季度的预测，即每股净收益8.68美元、营收340亿美元，但它们低于华尔街分析师的估计。分析师一般对苹果自己的预测持怀疑态度，因为该公司长期对其财务状况采取少报多表现的策略。
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected Apple to report earnings of $10.36 a share and $37.18 billion in revenue.
汤森路透(Thomson Reuters)调查的分析师此前预计，苹果的每股净收益为10.36美元，营收为371.8亿美元。
But even the growth of the iPad still hasn’t come close to dislodging the iPhone’s importance to Apple. It accounted for 46 percent of the company’s revenue in the quarter, and, according to Mr. Cihra’s estimates, about 60 percent of its profits.
但是，即便是iPad的增长也仍然难以撼动iPhone对苹果的重要性。iPhone占公司营收的46%，而且，根据西拉的测算，约占公司利润的60%。
Apple said it expects to report overall revenue of about $34 billion and earnings of $7.65 a share for the current quarter.
苹果预计，本季度的总营收约为340亿美元，而每股收益为7.65美元。