Apple Making Huge Money; iPad Outsells Macs

Thanks to products that make consumers go gaga for them, Apple has reported another record quarter. For its fiscal 2010 fourth quarter ended September 25, 2010, Apple 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.

"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."

Apple sold 3.89 million Macs during the quarter, a 27 percent unit increase 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. Apple also sold 4.19 million iPads during the quarter, meaning that it moved more tablets than it did computers.