Apple reports record quarter boosted by strong iPhone, iPad sales

PanARMENIAN.Net - Apple reported a record quarter on Wednesday, Jan 23, boosted by strong iPhone and iPad sales, but the popularity of cheaper versions of its mobile devices pinched the company's profits, according to CNNMoney.

The company sold 47.8 million iPhones during the past quarter, shattering the record of 37 million that it set a year ago when the iPhone 4S debuted. It's a stunning number, considering that supply chain woes limited iPhone 5 availability throughout much of the quarter.

That helped Apple record a quarterly profit of $13.1 billion, the second highest profit ever earned by a U.S. corporation -- bested only by Exxon Mobil's record-setting $14.8 billion quarter from the fall of 2008, when oil prices were at an all-time high.

Still, many analysts and Apple investors are concerned that buyers' interest in the iPhone might be drying up. Sales estimates for the current quarter and beyond are a pittance compared to the number of iPhones Apple was able to sell over the past three months, and Apple's stock has lost more than a quarter of its value over the past four months.

Customers also appear eager to pay $100 less to get a year-old iPhone 4S or $200 less to get the two-year-old iPhone 4 instead of the iPhone 5, whose features are only slightly more impressive than the older versions'.

As a result, Apple's profit just barely beat its total from the same quarter a year ago. By the slimmest of margins -- $14 million -- Apple avoided recording its first year-over-year drop in profit in nine years, as analysts had feared it might.

The older iPhones reduced the average selling price of the iPhone and contributed to Apple's pinched profit margin. The company's gross margin fell to 38.6% -- down a whopping six percentage points from the same period a year ago.

Apple's sales rose 17.7% to $54.5 billion, just missing analysts' forecasts of $54.7 billion. Still, Apple fattened its cash hoard nicely: It's currently sitting on $137.1 billion.

As for the iPad, Apple's other marquee mobile device, the company said it sold 22.9 million devices -- also a record. The iPad mini debuted last quarter, much to the delight of consumers waiting for a lower-priced Apple tablet.

Apple reported 4.1 million Mac sales -- down 21% from a year ago -- and 12.7 million iPod sales. Apple also sold more than 2 million Apple TVs in the quarter, the first time the set-top box eclipsed the 2 million mark.

Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer, said he expects the company to produce sales of $41 billion to $43 billion during the current quarter and gross margin between 37.5% and 38.5%. Both of estimates fall far short Wall Street analysts' forecasts.