Apple shares jump after record iPhone, iPad sales
It’s no surprise that Apple Inc.’s stock jumped to its highest price ever with the help of record sales of iPhones and iPads boosted third-quarter profits, which exceeded past estimates. With the iPhone 4 going to Verizon Wireless after much anticipation and the iPad 2 making its debut earlier this year, Apple stock has been favored in the market.
Apple shares jumped 4.2 percent to $392.83 at 9:36 a.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock, up 17 percent this year before today, had closed at a record $376.85 yesterday.
Net income in the quarter more than doubled to $7.31 billion, or $7.79 a share, from $3.25 billion, or $3.51, a year earlier, Apple said yesterday in a statement. Sales climbed 82 percent to $28.6 billion and analysts had predicted profit of $5.87 a share and revenue of $25 billion.
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International sales, especially in China, were a powerful force in Apple’s sales announcements where total revenue jumped sixfold to $3.8 billion, according to Bloomberg reports. And despite the iPad 2 shortages in March during the device’s debut, Apple still saw sales soar. Apple says the two-year-old device is its second-biggest revenue source, trailing behind its iPhone.
In the third quarter, Apple sold 20.3 million iPhones and 9.3 million iPads. The company is raising the sales bar for the fourth quarter and says profit would be about $5.50 a share on sales of $25 billion. On the other hand, analysts predict an average of $6.41 a share on sales of $27.7 billion.
