Blockbuster sales of the iPhone and strong Asian business again helped Apple Inc crush Wall Street's expectations, driving its shares up more than 7 percent to a record high and boosting Asian stocks. Sales of its iconic products far outpaced forecasts, helping drive a near-doubling of revenue in the fiscal third quarter.
Its shares leapt to a high of $405 after a brief after-hours trading suspension. Apple sold 20.34 million iPhones during the quarter versus an expected 17 million to 18 million, which analysts say helped it vault past Nokia and Samsung Electronics to become the world's biggest smartphone maker.
Apple's earnings beat was spectacular even by its own lofty track record. Its quarterly EPS beat the average forecast by 33 percent, versus beats of about 20 percent in the past two quarters.
The stellar results came as concern over iPad 2 supply constraints eased, with Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer saying more than 1 million iPads remained in stock at the end of June but demand was still overstripping supply in some markets.
Oppenheimer hinted at an upcoming product launch, saying it would impact the September quarter, but he gave no details. The Cupertino, California company said its fiscal third-quarter revenue climbed 82 percent to $28.57 billion, trouncing the average analyst estimate of $24.99 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company posted net income for the fiscal third quarter ended June 25 of $7.31 billion, or $7.79 per share, up from $3.25 billion, or $3.51 per share. Analysts on average had expected Apple to report $5.85 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Oppenheimer attributed the big margin boost to higher sales of the iPhone, particularly in Asia. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter's revenue.
Shares in Apple's Asian suppliers including Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision and Largan Precision jumped 2.6 percent and 3.2 percent respectively, while Japan's Foster Electric, which makes headphones for smartphones, rose 1.7 percent by 0015 GMT.