Could Apple be a victim of its own success? While the company’s latest quarterly results show double-digit growth in both revenue and profits, with iPhone and iPad sales both substantially higher than last year, Reuters reports that Wall Street is disappointed with the numbers. Analysts reportedly expected higher revenue and a greater number of iPhone shipments.
Here are the results for the quarter, which ended on June 30:
Q3 FY’11 | Q2 FY’12 | Q3 FY’12 | |
Revenue | $28.6 billion | $39.2 billion | $35.0 billion |
Net profit | $7.3 billion | $11.6 billion | $8.8 billion |
Gross margin | 41.7% | 47.4% | 42.8% |
And here are shipments figures for the company’s top products:
Q3 FY’11 | Q2 FY’12 | Q3 FY’12 | |
iPhones | 20.35 million | 35.1 million | 26.0 million |
iPads | 9.25 million | 11.8 million | 17.0 million |
Macs | 3.95 million | 4 million | 4.0 million |
iPods | 7.54 million | 7.7 million | 6.8 million |
Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer predicted revenue of $34 billion for the quarter, but according to Reuters, analysts were expecting around $37.2 billion. Analysts also predicted iPhone shipments would fall in the 28-29-million range. Speaking on Apple’s results conference call yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly blamed the lower-than-expected numbers on "muted consumer purchases in Western European countries and the pullback in demand as consumers wait for a new iPhone model."
I guess Apple isn’t entirely immune to the general sluggishness of the PC market, either, since Mac sales only went up 2% year-over-year. Then again, those Gartner figures we looked at recently suggest Apple is faring better than most.
In any case, Apple shareholders have a reason to celebrate: the Mac maker has issued cash dividend of $2.65 per share. That dividend will be payable on August 16, the company says.
Looking forward to the current quarter, Apple expects revenue to hit $34 billion. That would represent a slight sequential dip, but it would be a sizable increase over the $28.3 billion Apple posted for the same quarter last year.