Apple the pick of smartphone makers as earnings rocket

apple shares surged yesterday, a day after the company posted stellar results even by its own lofty standards, prompting several analysts to raise their earnings targets for the iPhone maker.

Blockbuster sales of the iPhone and strong Asian business again helped Apple crush Wall Street’s expectations, driving its shares up more than 7 per cent to record highs.

Sales of its iconic products far outpaced forecasts, helping drive a near-doubling of revenue in the fiscal third quarter.

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Apple sold 20.34m iPhones during the quarter versus an expected 17m-18m, which analysts say helped it vault past Nokia and Samsung Electronics to become the world’s biggest smartphone maker.

That “figure may, indeed, make them the largest smartphone maker by volume, which is somewhat ironic in a quarter that many thought would be about the Mac”, said CCS Insight.

“That they accomplished this without a new model speaks volumes about both their strength and the relative challenges facing competitors.”

Apple’s earning were spectacular even by its own lofty track record. Its quarterly EPS beat the average forecast by 33 per cent, versus beats of about 20 per cent in the past two quarters.

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The stellar results came as concern over iPad 2 supply constraints eased, with chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer saying that more than one million iPads remained in stock at the end of June but demand was still over-stripping supply in some markets.

Mr Oppenheimer also hinted at an upcoming product launch, saying it would impact the September quarter, but he gave no details.

In coming months, Apple is expected to roll out a new iPhone, likely to offer a stiff challenge to rivals Google and Research in Motion.

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