Apple crushes expectations with record quarter
Revenue increases 50% to $US43 billion as iPhone sales more than double to 37 million during the December quarter.
Apple has crushed Wall Street expectations with a record quarter that saw revenue increase 50% to $US43 billion on the back of record iPhone, iPad and Mac sales.
Revenue for the three months ending December 31 was $US43 billion (up from $US26.74 billion in the year-ago quarter).
Net profit was $13.06 billion, up from a year-ago $6 billion - and nearly 50% ahead of the consensus analyst estimate.
That net profit exceeded Google's entire revenue ($US10.6 billion for the quarter - a record for the search giant).
iPhone sales – 17 million in the previous quarter – jumped to 37 million (easily a record), fuelled by the new iPhone 4S.
The result indicates around 378,000 iPhones a day were activated with phone companies over the quarter - a big jump on the previous quarter's 190,000 per day, but still behind the 700,000 a day recently claimed by Google for handsets (made by Samsung, Sony, HTC, LG, Huawei and others) running its Android software.
iPad sales hit 15.4 million, a 111% increase over the year-ago quarter.
Apple's iPad and iPhone product lines now account for 72% of its quarterly revenue.
The gadgets' "halo effect" is also obvious. The company also sold 5.2 million Macs during the quarter, a 26% increase. The same quarter a decade ago, it sold 746,000.
Apple shares (NAS:AAPL) - halted in the regular session ahead of the announcement - jumped 10% after hours. The rise took Apple to an all-time high of over $452 per share, valuing the company (which already boasted the world's highest market cap) at more than $US420 million, putting it ahead of oil giant Exxon Mobil (on around $US416).
The company generated $17.5 billion cashing during the quarter, and is now sitting on a $US97 billion pile.
The company's earnings conference call will be webcast here.
NBR staff
Wed, 25 Jan 2012
Wed, 25 Jan 2012
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Apple crushes expectations with record quarter
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