Tim Cook's first quarter as Chief Executive Officer at Apple may have been fairly uneventful in terms of product launches (unless you count the iPhone 4S and the iBooks 2 announcement), but it has certainly been a successful one. The Cupertino-based company yesterday announced Q1 earnings for the FY2012 and revealed that it has had its best quarter on record.
Apple posted record quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.06 billion, or $13.87 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $26.74 billion and net quarterly profit of $6 billion, or $6.43 per diluted share, for the same period a year ago. Gross margin was 44.7 percent, up from 38.5 percent in the year-ago quarter.
Apple said iPhone sales for the quarter saw a 128 percent unit growth over the same period last year, selling 37.04 million handsets. iPads also saw an increase of 111 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. The company shifted 15.43 million of the tablets in Q1FY12. Mac sales also rose, but not by nearly as much as the iPhone and iPad; Apple sold 5.2 million Macs, a 26 percent unit increase over Q1FY11. As usual, iPods were the combo-breaker, representing the only decline in sales. The company sold 15.4 million, which is a 21 percent decline compared to the same period last year.
"We're thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs," said Tim Cook. "Apple's momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline."
However, this wasn't just a record breaker of a quarter for Apple. According to CNN's David Goldman, Apple's $46 billion in sales set a new tech record. Not only that, but the net quarterly profit of $13 billion, or $13.87 per share, was one of the most profitable quarters ever for any U.S. company, second only to ExxonMobil's $14.8 billion quarter in 2008.
Cook yesterday sent an email congratulating staff on the best quarter in company history and said he intends to discuss the "record-setting results and some exciting new things going on at Apple" at a Town Hall meeting scheduled for today.
