Apple had record sales in the fourth quarter, but the numbers were still not strong enough to please Wall Street.
Apple sold 47.8 million iPhones in the quarter, compared to 37 million in the same quarter a year ago and a new record for the company. However, it missed Wall Street’s estimates of 50 million iPhones. Meanwhile, the company reported selling 22.9 million iPads for the quarter, which came in just shy of the 23 million iPads analysts had expected Apple to sell.
Apple reported revenue of $54.5 billion — more than the entire annual revenue of Google in 2012 and a new record for the company — but it still came in slightly below analysts’ estimates for revenue of $54.7 billion. On the bright side, Apple’s profits beat estimates with earnings-per-share of $13.81 compared to estimates that it would fall to $13.44 per share.
“We’re thrilled with record revenue of over $54 billion and sales of over 75 million iOS devices in a single quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “We’re very confident in our product pipeline as we continue to focus on innovation and making the best products in the world.”
The company’s stock has taken a beating in recent months, declining by about 30% since September on concerns about iPhone supply issues, management changes and a potential decline in the company’s profit margin. In recent days, Apple’s stock has hovered around the $500 mark as investors appeared unsure whether the company was heading back toward its high of $705 a share or lower. These earnings numbers appear to have confirmed investor fears of the latter…
Read More: mashable.com
