| By Saul Hansell Tags: Apple, AT&T, iphoneApple doesn’t chat too much about the iPhone service fees AT&T shares with it. But the good folks at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (who make rules for how companies keep their books) have forced it to give us some clues. The accountants say that if someone promises to pay you money in the future (as AT&T does for each iPhone activated), you have to report this “deferred revenue” to investors.All this makes Apple’s financial statement into a rather complex algebra problem. Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, has tried to do the math.
His bottom line is rather shocking: AT&T appears to be paying $18 a month, on average, to Apple for each iPhone activated on its network. That adds up to $432 over a two year contract. In other words, Apple will receive $831 for each iPhone it sells. (It’s a little less for iPhones sold in AT&T stores.) He can’t tell, of course, what makes up that average. Apple may, for example, receive higher payments for customers new to AT&T or those who buy more expensive monthly plans. More —–> |
