Apple delivered a strong fiscal third quarter as it exceeded Wall Street estimates on earnings, revenue as well as Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod units. The company also said that it has more goodies in its product quiver and corporations are adopting the iPhone and iPad.
After the closing bell Tuesday, Apple reported fiscal third quarter net income of $3.25 billion, or $3.51 a share, on revenue of $15.7 billion. Apple was expected to report earnings of $3.11 a share on revenue of $14.75 billion for the third quarter ending June 30.
Apple's report comes just a few days after Steve Jobs and Co. held a press conference to address "antennagate." In a statement, Jobs said it was Apple's best quarter ever and the company has "amazing new products still to come." Jobs said:
"iPad is off to a terrific start, more people are buying Macs than ever before, and we have amazing new products still to come this year."
That comment obviously refers to the iPod refresh ahead of the Christmas shopping season. Apple projected fourth quarter earnings of $3.44 a share on revenue of about $18 billion. However, Apple is widely known for sandbagging analysts. For its fiscal fourth quarter ending Sept. 30, Apple is expected to report earnings of $3.81 a share on revenue of $16.98 billion.
Simply put, Apple is firing on all cylinders and even gaining momentum in the enterprise. On the company's conference call, Apple operating chief Tim Cook said the iPhone is being adopted by the enterprise. Cook said that "more than 80 percent of the Fortune 100" are planning or evaluating the iPhone and Apple is "seeing good momentum in the Fortune 500." That momentum is "transcending into education institutions," said Cook. And the real kicker: 50 percent of the Fortune 100 are testing and evaluating the iPad in the enterprise.
Cook also said that Apple is seeing no drop-off in iPhone 4 demand due to its antenna flap.
By the numbers:
Meanwhile, Apple's international expansion is paying off very nicely. Revenue in Europe was up 66 percent from a year ago and Apple sales surged 160 percent from a year ago in Asia Pacific. That's some heady growth abroad. Oppenheimer talked up Apple's international expansion and noted the iPhone has 154 carriers in 88 countries. In addition, Apple's iPad rollout continues abroad.
A few key items from Apple's conference call via Oppenheimer and Cook:
By product there are a few other key trends in the third quarter. To wit:
Here's the chart.