Apple reported yet another record quarter, with revenue of $15.68 billion
and a quarterly profit of $3.38 billion.
During its first fiscal quarter, which closed Dec. 26, Apple sold 3.36
million Macintosh computers and 8.7 million iPhones, or 33 percent more Macs
and 100 percent more iPhones than a year earlier, the company said Jan 25.
During its previous quarter, Apple
sold 3.05 million Macs and 7.4 million iPhones, and Apple Chief Financial
Officer Peter Oppenheimer—pointing to reduced "Snow Leopard" sales,
the rising costs of air freight and lowered margins on new products—had
estimated that Apple would earn $11.3 billion during the first financial quarter
of 2010.
Apple, however, has also earned a reputation for estimating low and
announcing high, and Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told Business Insider that the figures
were likely to be closer to 9.3 million iPhone sales and revenue of $12.25
billion.
"We're thrilled to have cleared our best quarter ever,"
Oppenheimer said during the live conference call. "We posted Apple's best
quarterly revenue and earnings and set new records on sales of Macs and
iPhones. We're shipping the best products in our history, and customers love
them."
Apple smashed several of its own records during the quarter, including
surpassing its previous quarterly revenue record by almost $3.5 billion. Oppenheimer
said Apple's operating margins were also its highest ever, and that iTunes
additionally set a new record.
The wide difference between expectation and the announced figures was partly
explained by Apple's announcement that it had switched over to the Financial
Accounting Standards Board's amended accounting standards. Regardless, the
results "certainly reaffirm the strength of the brand and the appeal of
the portfolio," Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi told eWEEK.
Do the results show that Apple knows what people want, which could bode well
for the success of a tablet?
"I think we still need to see what the tablet will come with, both from a
hardware but more importantly from a content perspective—and of course what
price point the device will have," Milanesi said. "However, looking
at Apple DNA, we know that the device will
not just be another device, another form factor, but that Apple will build an
all-around proposition beyond the hardware. This is something we have missed so
far in the tablets that have been brought to market."
While acknowledging that Apple is holding an event on Jan. 27—at which it is
widely expected by the public to introduce
a new slate or tablet PC—neither Oppenheimer nor his colleagues on the call
would utter the word "slate" or discuss whether their projections for
the following quarter included sales of a product Apple may or may not
introduce.
In a news release on the earnings, however, Apple CEO
Steve Jobs said, "The new products we are planning to release this year
are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we're really
excited about."
For the second fiscal quarter of 2010, Oppenheimer said he expects revenue
in the range of about $11 billion to $11.4 billion, and diluted earnings per
share in the range of $2.06 to $2.18.
Gartner announced on Jan. 14 that in the calendar fourth quarter of 2009 Apple
slipped one position to fifth place in the worldwide PC market, which puts
it behind Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer and Toshiba.
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