Apple Delivers Blowout Results as iPad Sales Nearly Triple
Apple delivered another blowout quarter, soaring past analysts' expectations for both earnings and revenue as sales of iPads nearly tripled.
It was at least the 9th straight quarter that the company smashed Wall Street's expectations.
Apple shares rose nearly 1 percent to $376.85 in regular trading Tuesday. Apple shares were halted in after-hours trading pending the news, then surged more than 6 percent when they reopened. Get the latest after-hour quotes for Apple here.
"They totally did it again. They totally crushed it. It's amazing because usually when you see a quarter this strong, it's usually around the holiday period in the December quarter," said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee. "For them to produce such strong results in the June quarter, it's remarkable, in light of the economy we are in. It looked like all the areas were stronger than expected except for the iPod."
Apple reported its earnings excluding items more than doubled to $7.79 a share in its fiscal third quarter from $3.51 a share in the year-earlier period.
Revenue shot up 82 percent to $28.57 billion from $15.7 billion in the year-earlier period.
Analysts had expected Apple to report earnings of $5.85 a share on revenue of $24.9 billion.
Sales of iPads and iPhones were strong during the quarter: The company said it sold 9.25 million iPads during the quarter, nearly triple the amount it sold a year earlier. IPhone sales more than doubled to 20.34 million. Mac sales increased 14 percent to 3.95 million units.
Cash flow more than doubled to $11.1 billion, the company said.
The company, known for its conservative guidance, said it expects earnings of $5.50 a share on revenue of $25 billion for the current quarter.
Apple's earnings report comes after news that Apple would delay the release of the iPhone 5. Apple typically releases a new version of the iPhone each June, bringing high traffic to stores.
Shares of the world's most valuable technology company have emerged from the limbo they had fallen into since Chief Executive Steve Jobs took leave last January for unspecified medical reasons. The stock price has gained nearly 19 percent since hitting a year low on June 20. The rally has added $54.8 billion to Apple's market cap since then.