The Advantage zyaada analysis follows later Here is the result and comparisons from Marketwatch.com Apple Inc. on Monday reported a 46% increase in its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings as the company posted higher revenue than a year ago led by better-than-expected sales of iPhones, Mac computers and iPods. Apple (AAPL 202.40, +12.54, +6.61%) said it earned $1.67 billion, or $1.82 a share, on revenue of $9.87 billion. During the same period a year ago, Apple earned $1.14 billion, or $1.26 a share, on $7.9 billion in sales. Apple's results topped the estimates of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who had forecast the company to earn $1.42 a share on revenue of $9.2 billion. The initial reaction to Apple's report was strong enough to send the company's shares up more than $12, or as much as 6.5%, in after-hours trading to $202.20 after earlier rising $1.81 a share in the regular market session. The company sold 7.4 million iPhones during the quarter ended Sept. 26. It was the first full quarter of sales for the iPhone 3GS, Apple's latest version of its touchscreen smartphone that starts at $199. Analysts were expecting iPhone sales of 7 million, on average. Apple also said it sold more than 3 million Macs during the quarter, thanks in part to the back-to-school selling season. Mac shipments increased by 17% from the same period a year ago. Analysts had been expecting Mac sales of 2.8 million. During the quarter, Apple released Snow Leopard, the latest upgrade to its Mac operating system. With the revenue recognition norms giving it an additional fillip on the balance sheet by Q1 2010 when more of the iPhone sales recovered from customer will reflect immediately and increase EPS, Apple has the right denoument to a hectic decade and a brilliant last 5 years since the launch of the iPod. With iPhone 3G an unqualified success at an affordable price point, it may even be the trailblazer for the telcos that have spent the revolution since the 90s largely deep in the red. Tech platforms seem to have stabilized for a successful cohabitation across the planet using iphones + portable music plus Kindle plus the Web 2.0 meaning that lifestyle customers are no longer being penalised with features that are outdated in just three months and uncompetitive pricing and packaging that brought AOL and Netscape down (and perhaps even Sony) The only clouds for Apple being Windows 7.0 which is as comfy as the Snow Leopard and the apple users remain people who look for discontinuous change when they switch! The only answer to that probably would be for Apple to get more vocal sponsors in the coming Crowdsourcing for retail lifestyle..
$189.86 (10/20/09)
