No Need to Defer Income

September 23rd, 2009

Accounting rule that required Apple to recognize iPhone and AppleTV revenue over 2 years was just changed.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) made the change. This will allow Apple to recognize iPhone revenue immediately, rather than over a 2 year time period. This is a big deal for Apple — their quarterly and annual revenue figures are significantly less than what they are in reality, because only a portion of iPhone revenue is recognized.

Good move.