Topic: Growth Stocks

Tech stocks: Strong iPhone sales boost Apple’s results

Apple Inc., symbol AAPL on Nasdaq, makes computers and a variety of other electronic devices. Portable devices, such as the iPod music player, the iPhone smartphone and the iPad tablet computer, dominate Apple’s overall sales. Users of these products also buy music, movie and video-game downloads at the tech stock’s iTunes online store.

In its second quarter, which ended March 26, 2011, Apple’s earnings rose 94.8%, to $6.0 billion, or $6.40 a share. That easily beat the consensus estimate of $5.38 a share. The company earned $3.1 billion, or $3.33 a share, a year earlier. The tech stock’s sales jumped 82.7%, to $24.7 billion from $13.5 billion. Sales outside the U.S. accounted for 59% of the total.

During the quarter, the company sold 18.6 million iPhone smartphones (up 113.1%) and 3.8 million Mac computers (up 27.8%). Sales of the tech stocks iPod music players fell 17.2%, to 9.0 million units. However, that’s because many iPod users are upgrading to the iPhone, which also plays music and videos.

Apple also sold 4.7 million iPad tablet computers in the quarter. It started selling the iPad in April 2010, so there is no comparable sales figure for the year-earlier quarter. However, iPad sales are down 36.0%, from 7.3 million units in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Still, that’s mainly due to shipping delays, not weakening demand.

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