Apple Releases Sales Figures: Mac Sales Grow 17%

I would not trust anyone who said there is no such thing a recession proof company because, Apple just released their sales figures and its much better than expected. Last quarter, Apple sold more iPhones & iMacs then ever before: 3.05 million Macs and 7.4 million iPhones. But, this quarter was not a perfect one for apple. The failing iPod continued the falling sales trend. This is most likely because smart phones, particularly the iPhone, provide all the things the doomed iPod have to offer.

If you are wondering how much profit Apple has made the quarter here it is: $9.87 billion. That is the second largest revenue Apple has made, next to last Christmas season.

Mac sales grew over 17% which is a huge leap considering the mere 2% of growth the industry totaled overall. Laptops were 74% of all Macs sold. Please take not that the the 17% growth is not market share. Apple still holds only about 9% of the desktop market share. Half of the Macs sold are still sold to first time Mac buyers.

Here are the somewhat disappointing iPod sale figures. 10.2 million iPods were sold which is down from the 11 million units sold last year (down 8%). Here is the crazy thing; iPod touch sales grew 100%! Surprisingly 50% of iPod bought were going to first time buyers. The iPod still has 70% of the market share. Sorry Zune HD.

Most Profitable Quarter Ever; Record Mac and iPhone Sales

CUPERTINO, Calif. Oct. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 fourth quarter ended September 26, 2009. The Company posted revenue of $9.87 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $7.9 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.14 billion, or $1.26 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.6 percent, up from 34.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter's revenue.

In accordance with the subscription accounting treatment required by GAAP, the Company recognizes revenue and cost of goods sold for iPhone™ and Apple TV® over their estimated economic lives. Adjusting GAAP sales and product costs to eliminate the impact of subscription accounting, the corresponding non-GAAP measures* for the quarter are $12.25 billion of "Adjusted Sales" and $2.85 billion of "Adjusted Net Income."

Apple sold 3.05 million Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing a 17 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 10.2 million iPods during the quarter, representing an eight percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones in the quarter, representing seven percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.

"We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We've got a very strong lineup for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010."

"We are delighted with our September quarter and fiscal 2009 results," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "For the full year, we grew revenue by 12 percent and net income by 18 percent in extraordinarily challenging times. Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2010, we expect revenue in the range of about $11.3 billion to $11.6 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $1.70 to $1.78."

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q4 2009 financial results conference call utilizing QuickTime®, Apple's standards-based technology for live and on-demand audio and video streaming. The live webcast will begin at 2:00 p.m. PDT on October 19, 2009 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq409/ and will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.