Apple named most profitable company in U.S.

PanARMENIAN.Net - Despite Apple's being replaced as the world's most valuable company after it reported Q4 2012 earnings that didn't impress investors and analysts, the company's profit margin has seen the iPhone maker being named as the most profitable company in the United States, tomshardware.com reports.

For the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2012, Apple reported a profit of $13.1 billion on sales of $54.5 billion. However, while its revenue increased, profit generated by the firm remained flat when compared to 2011's Q4. It sold 47.8 million iPhone units, but that was below the 50 million+ units analysts expected to be sold due to the introduction of the iPhone 5.

A chart released by statistics site Statista determined that Apple's December quarter earnings surpassed those of all other U.S. firms. Following in second was ExxonMobil (the company that replaced Apple as the most valuable firm on the planet) with $10 billion in earnings, while energy corporation Chevron settled for third with $7.2 billion. Other technology titans alongside Apple in the top 10 include Microsoft with a profit of $6.4 billion, and IBM with generated earnings of $5.8 billion.

According to Statista, only ExxonMobil and Russian energy company Gazprom have reported higher profits than Apple in the past. Either way, the chart's release comes after Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees that "the only companies that report better quarters pump oil," which he stated when responding to Apple being replaced as the world's most valuable company.

Apple is also the world's richest company. After its Q4 earnings, it confirmed that its cash pile has exceeded $137 billion. That said, it may share a larger-than-anticipated proportion of that following a lawsuit. Braeburn, a subsidiary of the company, remains the largest hedge fund on the planet. Elsewhere, during November 2012, it was revealed that Apple's yearly profits surmounted the entire PC industry.