Apple’s 3rd Quarter profit jumps 31%

In the 3rd quarter, Macintosh and iPod helped boost Apple Inc.’s scrawny earnings 31%, beating Wall Street’s expectations Monday. Apple earned $1.19 per share, or $1.07 billion , 11 cents ahead of analysts’ view for $7.31 billion. Apple sold more Macs than ever before, 2.5 million, up to 41% from a year ago. Apple also said iPod sales jumped 12%, Peter Oppenheimer, chief financial officer said, “The quarter was a home run” In an interview. Apple’s share’s sank $18.04, or 10.8%, to $148.25 in after-hour trading, after gaining $1.39 to close at $166.29.
Apple Inc’s conservative outlook tends to usually make them shoot low in their predictions for 4th quarter earnings. Apple only predicts a profit of $1 per share on $7.8 billion in sales, well short of Wall Street expectations. Through the plagues of expectations in the stock market Apple has been one of the strongest competitors, while still making profit when the economy is down. In the future, investors predict that Apple’s gross margin will drop. In response to this accusation, Apple Inc. noted that margin was actually better than expected, helped by better commodity prices and stronger sales of higher margin products. Oppeheimer forecasts even lower margins in the 4th quarter, tied in part to the launch of the undisclosed new products.