Apple sold 11.12 million iPads and a record-breaking number of Mac computers in the last quarter, though its revenue and net profit failed to reach Wall Street analyst estimates, sending shares tumbling overnight.
In a rare occurrence for one of the world’s most successful brands, its revenue for the quarter ended September 24 fell short of expectations. Revenue totalled US$28.27 billion, less than the expected US$29.69 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.
Net profit for the quarter totalled US$6.62 billion, or US$7.05 per diluted share. Analysts had tipped the company would report earnings of US$7.39 per diluted share.
The news sent the value of Apple shares falling around 6 percent overnight.
Results for Apple’s iPhone also missed the mark, with the company selling 17.07 million devices in the quarter, short of the 20 million analysts expected.
Gross margin was 40.3 percent compared to 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter and international sales accounted for 63 percent of the company’s revenue.
Apple sold 4.89 million Macs during the quarter, 26 percent more than the year-ago quarter, and 6.62 million iPods, a 27 percent decline from the year-ago quarter.
Despite missing analyst expectations, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said the company is “extremely pleased” with its “record September quarter revenue and earnings and with cash generation of $5.4 billion during the quarter.”
CEO Tim Cook said he’s happy with the response to the iPhone 4S, which broke first weekend sales records after 4 million devices were sold last weekend.
“Customer response to iPhone 4S has been fantastic, we have strong momentum going into the holiday season, and we remain really enthusiastic about our product pipeline.”
Oppenheimer said Apple expects December quarter earnings of $9.30 a share on revenue of about $37 billion.
