Shares in Apple were up more than $8 today after the Wall Street darling posted sharply higher earnings than expected.
In case you missed it, Apple offered a few stunning numbers for shareholders on Monday.
The company reported a fiscal fourth quarter net profit of $1.7 billion, or $1.82 a share, up from $1.1 billion, or $1.26 a year earlier. Analysts were expecting Apple to earn $1.42 billion.
With the release of its fiscal fourth quarter earnings, Apple noted that it sold 7.4 million iPhones in the quarter. That was up 7 percent from a year ago. A price drop and a new version of the iPhone helped push product out the door.
It also moved more than three million Mac computers, up 17 percent from a year earlier.
As analyst Michael Osterman said, Apple has mastered "cool and trendy."
Not all was good. Apple sold 8 percent fewer iPods than a year ago.
There's also an interesting commentary on Fierce Wireless that questions how long Apple can continue to dominate the smartphone market.
Following up Monday's earnings news, the company today updated its iMac desktop computer line and introduced a mouse that responds to the touch of fingers instead of using buttons or scroll wheels.
Those were among the finishing touches on a holiday lineup Apple hopes will help maintain the momentum of the past several quarters, in which the company has grown stronger despite the economic downturn.
The updated iMacs have bigger screens — 21.5 inches and 27 inches, compared with existing models’ 20 inches and 24 inches. They also have speedier processors and better graphics. The least expensive model costs $1,199, the same as the past generation, but the top-of-the-line iMac is now $200 cheaper at $1,999.
Apple has done great for this quarter. If anyone wonders if consumer electronics as an industry are slumping in the recession, look at the Apple earnings. The Apple earnings are substantial – over $1 billion in profits in the last quarter. It would be difficult to say that they aren't doing well – and it's largely from iPhone sales. Sales for the iPod have been tepid, in fact declining, but Mac sales are also climbing, which is surprising given the recent popularity of netbooks over traditional laptops and desktop PCs. Combine that with a financial crisis, and you'd think it would amount to disaster, but Apple has created recession proof products, and the Apple earnings are evidence that consumers are willing to get instant cash loans for them.