Apple Profit More Than Doubles on IPhone Demand
Apple reported quarterly profit that more than doubled as holiday purchases of the iPhone catapulted sales to a record and helped the company steer clear of the consumer-spending slump that has hurt rival companies.
Fiscal first-quarter profit surged to $13.1 billion, or $13.87 a share. Sales rose 73 percent to $46.3 billion. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg on average estimated profit of $10.14 a share on sales of $39 billion. Per-share profit for the quarter was more than the company earned in any fiscal year before 2010. Apple sold 37 million iPhones, up from the previous record of 20.34 million. Customers snapped up the 4S model that went on sale in October, a week after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs. The results mark the first time the company’s quarterly revenue topped Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ)’s, underscoring how its focus on sleek touch-screen mobile devices has reshuffled leadership in the industry.
“Those numbers are just unimaginable,” said Michael Obuchowski, chief investment officer at First Empire Asset Management, which has $4 billion under management, including Apple shares. “It’s still an extremely well-managed company and they are showing that the product pipeline is sufficient even now to generate growth rates that are unrivaled.” Apple shares soared as much as 12 percent to $468.95 in extended trading, surpassing their record closing price of $429.11 on Jan. 18.
Apple Profit More Than Doubles on IPhone Demand