Apple Inc’s profits and sales streaked past Wall Street’s forecasts as iPhone and Mac sales hit quarterly records, sending its shares rocketing to all-time highs on Monday.
Sales of Apple’s Mac computers jumped 17 percent from a year earlier to 3.05 million in the September quarter, above analysts’ average forecast of roughly 2.8 million.
Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones, up from 6.9 million a year ago, and just shy of expectations of 7.5 million units. Some analysts had thought the company was having a tough time making enough iPhones to meet demand.
“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 US$250 in six to nine months,” said Jane Snorek, analyst at First American Funds.
“Usually Christmas and back-to-school are correlated and Apple usually has a gigantic Christmas quarter. This makes me think Apple will have a great Christmas,” she said.
Apple’s stock jumped 7.5 percent to above US$204 in extended trading. It had closed at US$189.86 on NASDAQ. The stock’s record intraday high was US$202.96 on Dec. 27, 2007.
Apple’s fiscal fourth quarter had marked the return of chief executive Steve Jobs to his offices at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, California. The master showman had a liver transplant while on a six-month leave of absence.
The company posted a net profit of US$1.67 billion, or US$1.82 a share, in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 26, up from US$1.14 billion, or US$1.26 a share, in the year-ago period.
Analysts were expecting a profit of US$1.42 a share, Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S said.
Market expectations had appeared even higher in the run-up to the earnings release.
The so-called “whisper number” was near US$1.60, said William Lefkowitz, options strategist at vFinance Investments.
Revenue rose 25 percent to US$9.87 billion, ahead of the average Wall Street estimate of US$9.2 billion. Apple posted a gross margin of 36.6 percent, up from 34.7 percent a year ago. Wall Street had been expecting a margin of 35.5 percent.
Apple’s guidance is typically conservative. It forecast earnings for the current quarter of US$1.70 to US$1.78 a share on revenue of US$11.3 billion to US$11.6 billion.
Analysts had been expecting earnings of US$1.91 a share on revenue of US$11.4 billion.
Despite a high price point, Macs have been gaining share for years and are expected to continue to do so. Industry tracker IDC says Apple holds 9.4 percent of the PC market in the US.
“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. You know, it proves that even in a challenging economy people are willing to pay for what they perceive to be high quality product.”
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