Apple Bucks Downturn, Earnings Rise 15 Percent
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009; 5:49 PM
Apple continued to buck the economic downturn, reporting today that its earnings in the third quarter rose 15 percent to $1.23 billion as sales of its high-end iPhone boomed.
The Cupertino, Calif. company said in a release after the market's close that earnings and revenues in the quarter were their highest ever for a non-holiday retail quarter. Revenues rose 12 percent to $8.34 billion.
"We're making our most innovative products ever and our customers are responding," Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in a release. Jobs returned to head the company last month after a six-month medical leave of absence.
Also today, Yahoo reported that its third quarter profit rose 8 percent to $141 million because of cost-cutting efforts. The company has undergone layoffs and restructuring that recently brought in new CEO. But the underlying business continued to suffer as revenue fell 13 percent to $1.57 billion from $1.8 billion.
At Apple, sales of iPhones and higher margins on other products drove earnings growth in the quarter. The company, which partners exclusively with AT&T to sell and operate the iPhone, said it sold 5.2 million iPhones in the quarter, more than seven times the number it sold in the same quarter of 2008. It had revenues of $1.69 billion from the iPhone.
While sales of other products such as iPods and laptop computers fell or began to slow, margins increased to 36.3 percent from 34.8 percent last quarter. Sales of iPods fell 7 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.
