Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), the Cupertino, California-based technology giant, reported yet another blowout quarterly results, posting record profit and revenue for its first quarter, driven by strong iPhone 4S sales.
Apple shares have surged in today’s trading following the release of quarterly results. At last check, Apple shares were trading 6.86% higher at $449.27 on above average volume of 19.29 million. Apple shares touched an all-time high of $454.45 today and the company is now the world’s most valuable in terms of market capitalization.
Timothy Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in a conference call that the customer response to the new iPhone has been breathtaking and the company could not meet global demand for the device even though it produced a record number of iPhones.
But it was not all about the iPhone. The iPad also had a record quarter. The iPhone and the iPad now account for 72% of Apple’s total revenue.
The iPad’s performance is particularly impressive considering that the tablet device faced its first credible competition in the form of Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) Kindle Fire. At $199, the Kindle Fire is substantially cheaper than the iPad. The starting price for an iPad is $499.
CEO Cook said that iPad sales were not hurt by Amazon’s Kindle products, which have less computing power. Cook said that customers will but Kindle products but people who want iPad will not settle for limited functions.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2011, Apple posted record quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.06 billion, or $13.87 per share. For the same period in the previous year, Apple had reported revenue of $26.74 billion and net profit of $6 billion, or $6.43 per share. Apple’s earnings and revenue for the quarter easily beat Wall Street estimates. Analysts had forecast the company’s first-quarter earnings at $10.08 per share on revenue of $38.85 billion.
Peter Oppenheimer, CFO of Apple, said that looking ahead to the second quarter of fiscal 2012, the company expects revenue of $32.5 billion and diluted earnings per share of $8.50.
