Profit jumps to $8.8 bn, but misses forecasts
Apple on Tuesday reported that quarterly profit grew to $8.8 billion on hot iPad sales but the results came up short of lofty expectations. Apple said that its revenue hit $35 billion in the quarter ended June 30, a figure shy of Wall Street expectations despite nearly doubling iPad sales and selling 28 percent more iPhones than in the same period a year earlier. With results below analyst forecasts, Apple shares slid 5.4 percent in after-hours trade to $568.45. “We’re thrilled with record sales of 17 million iPads in the June quarter,” Apple chief Tim Cook said in a release. “We’ve also just updated the entire MacBook line, will release (the computer operating syste) Mountain Lion tomorrow and will be launching (mobile operating system) iOS 6 this fall.” Cook added that the Cupertino, California-based company has “amazing new products” on the way. Some analysts believe that the blistering pace of iPhone sales growth faces a temporary cooling as potential buyers wait for the release of a new-generation iPhone, perhaps later this year. Apple’s share of the US smartphone market was expected to inch up a percent to 31 percent this year, while the share for handsets powered by Google-backed Android software was expected to hit 41 percent, according to eMarketer. Apple used the earnings report to declare a cash dividend of $2.65 per share of common stock.
