Linked List: April 30, 2019

Tuesday, 30 April 2019

Eric Schmidt Is Leaving Google’s Board ★

Google (well, technically, Alphabet):

After over 18 years on the Board, Eric Schmidt is not seeking re-election at the expiration of his current term on June 19, 2019. He will continue as a technical advisor to Alphabet. Eric has served as a member of the Board since March 2001. He was Google’s Chief Executive Officer from July 2001 to April 2011, and its Executive Chairman from April 2011 until January 2018.

“Eric has made an extraordinary contribution to Google and Alphabet as CEO, Chairman, and Board member. We are extremely grateful for his guidance and leadership over many years,” Hennessy said.

Is this weird? Schmidt is only 63 years old. But Google was never really his company — it’s always been Larry Page’s and Sergey Brin’s company.

Also years later, this whole “Alphabet” thing still sounds super weird to my ears.

Apple’s Quarter by the Numbers ★

Jason Snell’s visualizations of Apple’s quarter are excellent, as usual.

Even though Apple no longer reports unit sales, they do still break down product categories by revenue. At 20% of the company’s revenue, Services now accounts for more revenue than Mac and iPad combined. And Wearables is now a full peer, revenue-wise, to Mac and iPad. Judging by Cook’s comments on the analyst call, I think the growth in Wearables revenue is being driven by AirPods — not that I think Watch isn’t still growing, but it sounds like AirPod sales are through the roof.

Apple Q2 2019 Results ★

Apple:

Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2019 second quarter ended March 30, 2019. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $58 billion, a decline of 5 percent from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.46, down 10 percent. International sales accounted for 61 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple’s sub-head: “Services Revenue Reaches New All-Time High of $11.5 Billion”. Looks like a good overall quarter, and the stock has shot up 5% in after-hours trading. But without iPhone/iPad/Mac breakouts, these reports are boring.