Apple hits first $20 billion quarter, stock plunges as iPad sales disappoint

Apple reported its first $20 billion quarter with record sales of Mac, iPhone and iPad products. The company recorded revenue of $20.34 billion and net profit of $4.31 billion, or $4.64 per share, versus analyst expectations of earnings of $4.10 on revenue of $18.90 billion. Quite impressive numbers considering that Apple posted revenue of $12.21 billion and net quarterly profit of $2.53 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Mac sales are up 27 percent year-over-year to 3.89 million units and the company's iPhone sales grew 91 percent year-over-year to 14.1 million units. Sales of the iPod on the other hand declined 11 percent to 9.05 million units, while iPad sales hit 4.19 million units.

After hitting a new all-time high of $319 this afternoon, Apple's shares are down 5.11 percent to $301.76 as iPad sales failed to hit analyst's expectations of 4.81 million units and because the company anticipates earnings per share of $4.80 for the next quarter while analysts were counting on $5.03.

Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2010 fourth quarter ended September 25, 2010. The Company posted record revenue of $20.34 billion and net quarterly profit of $4.31 billion, or $4.64 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $12.21 billion and net quarterly profit of $2.53 billion, or $2.77 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.9 percent compared to 41.8 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 57 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple sold 3.89 million Macs during the quarter, a 27 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 14.1 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 91 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 9.05 million iPods during the quarter, representing an 11 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The Company also sold 4.19 million iPads during the quarter.

“We are blown away to report over $20 billion in revenue and over $4 billion in after-tax earnings—both all-time records for Apple,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPhone sales of 14.1 million were up 91 percent year-over-year, handily beating the 12.1 million phones RIM sold in their most recent quarter. We still have a few surprises left for the remainder of this calendar year.”

“We’re thrilled with the performance and strength of our business, generating almost $5.7 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $23 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $4.80.”