Apple smashes forecasts, stock hits record
Apple Inc’s profits and sales streaked past Wall Street forecasts as iPhone and Mac sales hit quarterly records, sending its shares rocketing to all-time highs on Monday.
Sales of Mac computers — the largest single contributor to Apple’s revenue — jumped a better-than-foreseen 17 percent, but shipments of the closely watched iPhone were held back by problems in producing enough to meet demand, particularly abroad.
“The big story is the renewed ascendancy of the Mac,” said Barry Jaruzelski, a partner at consulting firm Booz & Co.
“The only surprise would be when Apple doesn’t surprise on earnings …. The Mac and iPhone continue to grow and take share, and they’re taking share with premium pricing.”
IPhone sales had been expected to steal the limelight. Yet unit sales rose 7 percent to 7.4 million, just shy of Wall Street expectations of 7.5 million units.
But it was the company’s venerable Mac warhorse, which has steadily expanded market share for years, that starred. The stellar shipment numbers came just days before rival Microsoft Corp was set to unveil its latest version of Windows operating system, to be followed a day later by its own quarterly results.
Mac sales hit 3.05 million in the September quarter, above average estimate for about 2.8 million. Sales of laptop units alone leapt 35 percent, at a time the global PC market is stagnant.
“These are huge numbers tonight. Apple is probably the best growth story in tech, maybe one of the best growth stocks in the market. I bet this stock can go to $250 in six to nine months,” said Jane Snorek, analyst at First American Funds.
“This makes me think Apple will have a great Christmas.”
Apple’s fiscal fourth quarter marked the return of Chief Executive Steve Jobs to his offices at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California. The master showman had a liver transplant while on a six-month leave of absence.
In his absence, Apple showed resilience to the slump in consumer spending that pummeled rivals, such as BlackBerry maker Research in Motion’s and Nokia.
“The number of Macs sold shows that Windows 7 has not been a threat to the Apple franchise,” said Shannon Cross of Cross Research. “These are phenomenal results.”
OUTSIZED HOPES, BLOCKBUSTER RESULTS
According to industry tracker IDC, Apple holds 9.4 percent of the U.S. PC market.
Net profit rose to $1.67 billion, or $1.82 a share, in the quarter ended September 26, from $1.14 billion, or $1.26 a share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts were expecting a profit of $1.42 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Filed under: technology by Specialist