Last week, the numbers for Apple’s second quarter earnings of 2010 were released. And while it is no surprise that Apple did well in this quarter, it appears as if they even exceeded their own expectations. The second quarter of 2010 was, for Apple, marked with excitement for Apple loyalists, as well as the company itself. The release of the iPad was sure to add to the company’s success. But along with the peaks, Apple also experienced some valleys.
For instance, while the wi-fi iPad has been in the hands of consumers for about a month now, the 3G model has yet to hit the stores. Likewise, Apple enthusiasts have long been waiting for a new MacBook Pro, and while a revamped MacBook Pro was released earlier this month, it didn’t make it in time for the second quarter earnings. Moreover, the international release date for the iPad has been pushed back so that, it too, did not make the cut for second quarter earnings.
Despite all of these apparent setbacks, however, Apple soared when it came time to examine the earnings for the quarter. A recent article posted on C-Net outlined much of what can be seen in Apple’s quarterly report, and it is quite impressive. To begin with, let’s contrast Apple’s anticipated earnings with what they actually brought in. Most speculators anticipated that Apple would bring in just over 11 billion last quarter, and have stock value around $2.00 a share. These forecasts were blown out of the water, however, as Apple reported revenue of $13.5 billion, profits of $3.07 billion and stock value of $3.33 a share. Needless to say, Apple did something right last quarter.
This look at the big picture is impressive, indeed, but a break down of the numbers is also quite extraordinary. The following numbers show some of what Apple reported in its second quarter earnings of 2010:
• Macintosh sales were up by 33 percent.
• Apple sold 2.9 million Macs.
• iPhone sales were up by 131 percent, which is largely due to expanding the international market and reaching out to China.
• Apple sold 8.75 million iPhones.
• Apple sold 10.89 million iPods, which is almost identical to the number of iPods sold in the second quarter of last year.
• iPod Touch sales increased by 63 percent from the second quarter of last year.
• Sales at iTunes exceeded $1.1 billion.
• The number of people to shop at Apple Stores around the world increased by 20 percent from the second quarter last year.
• Apple Stores averaged about $5.9 million per store, and there were 284 Apple Stores open.
Even a cursory glance at these numbers makes it quite clear why Steve Jobs himself believes that the second quarter of 2010 was the best holiday quarter that Apple has ever seen. While forecasts for next quarter are not as high as this quarter, there is a good chance that the full international release of the 3G iPad could boost numbers up this high once again.
