Apple Q3 Results Top Street Expectations on Strong iPhone, iPad Sales

Technology giant Apple Inc’s (AAPL) third quarter earnings and revenue beat Wall Street expectations, led by blockbuster sales of its hot iPhones and iPads.

For the quarter ended June 30, Apple’s net income surged to $7.31 billion or $7.79 per diluted share from $3.25 billion or $3.51 per diluted share in the same quarter last year. Gross margin was 41.7 percent compared to 39.1 percent in the same period a year-ago.
Quarterly revenue rose to $28.57 billion from $15.70 billion in the same period a year-ago.

Analysts had expected earnings of $5.85 per share on revenue of $25 billion for the third quarter.

We're thrilled to deliver our best quarter ever with revenue up 82 percent and profits up 125 percent. Right now, we're very focused and excited about bringing iOS 5 and iCloud to our users this fall, said Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

The Company sold 20.34 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 142 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 9.25 million iPads during the quarter, a 183 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Analysts had expected Apple to sell roughly 16 to 18 million iPhones and 8 million iPads.

The Company also sold 3.95 million Macs during the quarter, a 14 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 7.54 million iPods, a 20 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

Looking forward to fourth quarter, the company expects revenue of about $25 billion and earnings of about $5.50 per share, while analysts expect the company to earn $6.42 per share on revenue of $27.70 billion.

Apple shares surged 4.55 percent to $394 in aftermarket trading session.