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| Wednesday, July 19, 2006 |
Apple profit rises 48 percent
SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Wednesday posted a 48 percent increase in quarterly net income as it sold more iPod digital music players and Intel Corp.-powered (NASDAQ:INTC) Macintosh computers.
Apple said net income for its fiscal third quarter, ended July 1, rose to $472 million, or 54 cents per share, from $320 million, or 37 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 24 percent to $4.37 billion from $3.52 billion.
Analysts expected Apple to earn 44 cents per share, on average, within a range of 40 cents to 49 cents, on revenue of $3.68 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
While sales of iPods are still rising at a respectable clip, concerns of a slowing sales growth rate have arisen in recent months, and shares of Apple are down some 24 percent since early May.
Based on Tuesday's closing prices, Apple shares so far this year have declined 26 percent, compared with an 12 percent decline in the Morgan Stanley High Technology Index, of which Apple is a component. Apple stock more than doubled in 2005, after tripling in 2004, largely on booming sales of the iPod. |
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