Apple Quarterly Income Misses Expectations

Apple has posted a mixed financial report for its fourth fiscal quarter. Profits were strong, but failed to meet analyst expectations. And while sales of iPhones soared, iPad sales fell short.

Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt wrote, “Apple’s reported mixed results Thursday. Although its sales of nearly $36 billion beat both its guidance and Wall Street’s estimates, its earnings came up slightly short. At $8.67 per share, they were higher than the company’s usual conservative guidance of $7.05. But they were less than the $8.75 Wall Street was expecting — and that number had been reduced after analysts learned Tuesday that iPad sales for the quarter were coming up light. Those iPad sales — 14 million — were even lower than analysts’ lowered expectations. iPhone sales, by contrast, were a bit higher.”

Nick Wingfield from The New York Times observed, “Underscoring how drastically Apple’s business has been transformed by mobile products, revenue from the iPhone rose 56 percent to $17.13 billion, making up 48 percent of the company’s total revenue. It sold 26.9 million iPhones, 58 percent more than a year earlier.”

Computerworld’s Greg Keizer noted, “The forecast for the holidays also looks less profitable, the company acknowledged, what with its aggressive roll-out pace — new iPods, new iPhone, new iPads — one small, one larger — new MacBook Pro and new iMacs in the last six weeks.”

Quoted in the company press release, CEO Tim Cook remained upbeat, saying “We’re very proud to end a fantastic fiscal year with record September quarter results.” He added, “We’re entering this holiday season with the best iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod products ever, and we remain very confident in our new product pipeline.”