Apple handed its shareholders a late Christmas present, with the shares climbing 7 per cent in after hours trading as strong demand for iPhones and iPads over the holiday trading period saw the technology giant double net income and soothe the worries of those who thought the company might lost its mojo after the death of Steve Jobs.
Net income soared to a record $13.1bn, well ahead of ever-conservative Wall St estimates, after the company sold 37m iPhones and 15m iPads in the quarter (versus expectations of 31m and 14m respectively). Chief executive Tim Cook said sales would have been higher, but for supply constraints. He admitted that the company had not been bold enough in China, where the recent launch of the iPhone 4S was marred by angry scenes from would-be customers unable to buy the must-have smartphone due to shortages.
The news suggests that Apple's earnings miss in October was little more than a blip, most likely down to customers postponing purchases in anticipation of the autumn launch of the latest iPhone. Mr Cook's tantalising hint that "amazing new products" are on the way mean the same thing may happen at some stage this year - but it's a nice problem to have if it means a sales bonanza shortly after.
Industry rumours suggest a new version of the iPad may launch in early spring, followed by the iPhone 5 later in the year, while new initiatives such as its Textbook project should continue to build out a content ecosystem that cements Apple's devices market position - in fact, its iTunes store delivered sales of $1.7bn in the three months.
