Record Mac sales and a strong debut for the iPad helped Apple generate $15.7 billion in sales and a profit of $3.25 billion during the company’s fiscal third quarter. Apple’s sales figures, revealed as part of the company’s third-quarter earnings announcement Tuesday, mark a quarterly record.
Compared to last year’s third quarter, Apple’s revenue rose 61 percent from $9.73 billion. Profits rose nearly 78 percent from $1.83 billion.
On a per-share basis, Apple earned $3.51 per share, up 75 percent from the $2.01 it earned over the same period in 2009. The company’s results beat analyst expectations of $3.10 a share and $14.74 billion in revenue.
Apple sold 3.47 million Macs during the three-month period ended June 26, 2010—another quarterly record for the company. Mac sales increased 33 percent over the 2.6 million units Apple sold in the third quarter of 2009.
The third quarter also marked the first full quarter of sales for the iPad, Apple’s new tablet. Apple said it sold 3.27 million iPads during the quarter.
Apple sold 8.4 million iPhones in the third quarter, a 61 percent jump over last year’s figures. The iPhone 4 debuted in the waning days of the third quarter in what Apple has called the most successful product launch in its history.
iPod sales fell during the third quarter of 2010. Apple sold 9.41 million iPods, a drop of 8 percent from the 10.2 million music players Apple sold in the year-ago quarter. The iPod segment has seen declining growth for some time now, particularly outside of the holiday shopping season. During the fiscal second quarter, iPod sales dipped by 1 percent while the 2009 third quarter saw a 7 percent decline in sales.
For the fiscal fourth quarter ending in September, Apple expects revenue of $18 billion and earnings per share to come in around $3.44. Analysts were predicting sales of $17.03 billion and earnings of $3.82 per share in advance of Apple’s announcement on Tuesday.
Apple will hold a conference call with analysts at 2 p.m. PT to go over the results. Macworld will have live coverage of that call, as well as more details about Apple’s quarterly performance as they become available.
Updated at 2:17 p.m. PT to include last year’s quarterly sales and profits and Apple’s guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter.
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