Apple
IHS iSuppli has a long-standing habit of taking the next logical step: The company matches its findings with pricing information and then reports on the bill of materials for every Apple device (and many fruit-free smartphones and tablets as well). And the new iPad turns out to cost Apple more than the iPad 2 ever did.
Comparing Granny Smiths to Granny Smiths, the total bill for a 16-gigabyte, Wi-Fi-only iPad 3 comes out to $316. That's 29% more than the $245 tab for making an iPad 2 at today's component prices. iSuppli didn't break down a completely comparable model last year, but the 32 GB 4G version today costs $375 to make, compared with $333 for the Verizon
So Apple won't make quite the profit margin it was used to. On the other hand, consumers are getting a great deal -- at least on the lower-end models. Quadrupling the new iPad's flash memory from 16 to 64 GB adds $50 to the manufacturing cost but $200 to the retail price tag. Likewise, adding 4G networking boosts the retail price far beyond the actual cost of the upgrade. The fatter your iPad choice, the richer Apple gets.
The biggest price jumps obviously come from that stunning ultra-HD Retina Display, which adds $30 to Apple's costs. The high-powered graphics engine in the new processor nearly doubles the price of the processor to $23, all in the name of feeding the pixel-packed display.
The battery is about 40% more expensive, but that's what it takes to light up all those pixels. In short, nearly every extra penny was spent on the screen, either directly or indirectly.
Until Sharp and LG Display
Aside from Samsung, iSupply contends that the biggest winner in the new design is Qualcomm
Will consumers overwhelmingly opt for high-speed data and huge memory configurations, or will they take the sensible route and pick the lower-end, less profitable versions instead? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind, but it will make a big difference to Apple's profits in the second quarter onward.
A handful of chip suppliers will pocket their profits no matter which iPad model turns out to be the crowd favorite. Check out these three hidden winners of the iPhone, iPad, and Android revolution, including one stock we already discussed here.