Apple today reported fourth-quarter sales and profit that beat analysts' estimates amid demand for iPhones and iPad tablet computers for students heading back to school.
Net income at the company rose to $4.31 billion, or $4.64 a share, compared with $2.53 billion, or $2.77, a year earlier, Apple said today in a statement. Sales in the period that ended in September rose to $20.3 billion. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated sales of $18.9 billion and profit of $4.10 a share.
Apple, now the third-largest company by market value, is benefiting from rising demand for its smartphones and computers even as rivals see lacklustre household computer purchases.
Revenue this quarter will be about $23 billion, Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said in the statement. Profit will be about $4.80 a share in the period, which includes the year-end holiday shopping season.
Apple climbed $3.26 to $318, a record, in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares, up 51 per cent this year, surpassed $300 for the first time last week.
Analysts had predicted profit of $5.03 a share on sales of $22.3 billion for the current quarter. Apple typically gives forecasts that fall short of estimates.
Today's results include the first full quarter of sales for the fourth version of the iPhone, released in June, and the second time Apple has reported the performance of the iPad, now available in 26 countries. Apple sold 14.1 million iPhones, 4.19 million iPads and 3.89 million Macintosh computers.
On October 20th, the company is hosting an event where it is expected to unveil new features for Mac computers and its operating system.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs may get a sales boost by expanding the availability of the iPhone in the United States, and the popularity of Apple's mobile devices is helping increase sales of its Macintosh computers.
Apple's US computer shipments climbed 24 per cent in the third-quarter, making it the third-ranked PC supplier in the county after HP and Dell, researcher IDC said last week. The iPad has created a "halo effect" that has boosted Mac sales, IDC said.
Bloomberg