苹果增长故事完好无损 Apple still on top

 　　Apple missed analysts’ estimates in its June quarters of 2012 and 2013. Three years ago investors² — and customers — were waiting nervously³ for the next iPhone. Two years ago the company’s sales in China, its most important growth market, fell. Those were things worth worrying about.

　　在2012年和2013年，苹果(Apple)在截止6月份这个季度的业绩均逊于分析师预期。三年前，投资者——以及消费者——焦急地等待下一代iPhone的面世。两年前，该公司在其最重要的成长型市场中国的销售出现了下滑。这两者都是值得人们操心的事情。

　　On Tuesday, Apple’s stock suffered a more serious adverse⁴ reaction than on either of those darker July afternoons, falling more than 7 per cent. Profits and revenues beat consensus⁵ estimates. This time the worries are iPhone shipments that were a sliver⁶ below expectations and a slightly weaker-than-expected revenue target for the September quarter.

　　比起上述两个更为灰暗的7月下午，本周二苹果股票对公司业绩披露作出了更为剧烈的负面反应，股价重挫逾7%。苹果的利润和收入超出了共识预期。这次市场担忧的是，iPhone发货量稍逊于预期，以及该公司公布的第四财季收入目标略低于预期。

　　Some investor¹ wobble is to be expected. They own a different company than the Apple of two years ago, and their expectations are higher. The stock has doubled since then even after Tuesday’s sell-off. Tim Cook is firmly entrenched⁷ as chief executive.

　　投资者出现一定程度的动摇在意料之中。他们现在拥有的苹果公司与两年前不同，而且他们的期望值更高了。即便在周二的暴跌之后，苹果的股价也仍比两年前高了一倍。蒂姆錠克(Tim Cook)的首席执行官地位稳如磐石。

　　But the growth story is still intact. The iPhone remains⁸ a magical success story, with 47.5m units sold in the last three months, up 35 per cent year-on-year. Consumers are willing to pay significantly more for them, with the average selling price up $99, or 18 per cent, in 12 months. China’s economy may be slowing, but so far it has done nothing to slow customer demand: revenue from the region rose 112 per cent year-on-year to $13.2bn. At that pace, it will outstrip⁹ the Americas as Apple’s biggest market in the next few months.

　　但苹果的增长故事仍然完好无损。iPhone依然取得了非凡的成功，在过去3个月里售出了4750万部，同比增长35%。消费者愿意花更多的钱购买它们，其平均售价在12个月里上涨了99美元，涨幅为18%。中国经济可能在放缓，但迄今还没有导致消费者需求下降：苹果在大中华区的收入同比增长112%，至132亿美元。按照这种速度，大中华区市场将在几个月后超过美国市场，成为苹果的最大市场。

　　None of this is to argue that Apple can keep growing at its current pace indefinitely. How the company can follow the iPhone 6 and the conquest of China is a legitimate¹⁰ question; the Apple Watch is not yet showing signs of being a world beater. Anxieties about Apple eventually losing share to cheaper rivals are similarly legitimate. The point is that nothing in Tuesday’s numbers diminishes the fact that Apple absolutely dominates the most profitable part of mobile technology today, or the stubborn fact that dominance is hard to maintain.

　　这一切绝不意味着苹果能够永远保持当前的增长速度。有人想知道苹果如何在iPhone 6和征服中国市场之后延续成功，有这样的疑问是合理的；Apple Watch迄今仍没展示出在世界热卖的迹象。对苹果最终被产品售价较低的竞争对手抢走市场份额的担忧同样是合理的。关键在于，周二发布的财报数据既没有削弱一个事实，即苹果在当前移动科技利润最高的领域占绝对主导地位，也没有削弱另一个铁一般的事实，即维持这一霸主地位并不容易。

1 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

4 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

5 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

6 sliver   

n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开

参考例句：

• There was only one sliver of light in the darkness.黑暗中只有一点零星的光亮。
• Then,one night,Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.之后的一天晚上，莫尼卡看到了一个月牙。

7 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 outstrip   

v.超过，跑过

参考例句：

• He can outstrip his friend both in sports and in studies.他能在体育和学习方面胜过他的朋友。
• It is possible for us to outstrip the advanced countries in the world.我们能超过世界上先进的国家。

10 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。