“Building on continued momentum of its iPod players, Apple Computer Inc. nearly doubled its net income on record revenue and easily topped Wall Street expectations. But a soft forecast for the coming quarter drove Apple’s shares down more than 3 percent in extended trading Wednesday,” May Wong reports for The Associated Press. “For the second fiscal quarter, Apple said it expects revenue of about $4.3 billion and earnings per share of 38 cents, including an estimated non-cash share-based compensation expense of 4 cents a share. Analysts were expecting earnings of 48 cents a share on revenue of $4.6 billion, and questioned why the guidance was so conservative.”
“Apple’s chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, explained during a conference call that despite an ‘extraordinary response’ to the new iMac desktop and MacBook laptop unveiled last week, the company would start shipping the MacBook in February, limiting its impact for the quarter,” Wong reports. “Oppenheimer also indicated Apple might experience a continued ‘pause’ in Mac sales, which the company saw in its first quarter due to customer anticipation of new computers in the coming year.”
“For the three months ended Dec. 31, the maker of Macintosh computers and iPods said it earned $565 million, or 65 cents per share, up from $295 million, or 35 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. Apple revenues soared to $5.75 billion up from $3.49 billion a year ago… Apple shares slumped 3.3 percent in late-session activity, down $2.71, after the report was released. Earlier, the stock fell 2.6 percent, or $2.22, to close at $82.49 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, dragged down by investor disappointment from lackluster results at Yahoo Inc. and missed expectations from Intel Corp. American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu said the stock was likely just correcting itself. ‘Expectations were getting out of hand,’ he said. ‘And it’s good to see Apple trying to reset them.’ The leaner outlook would still mark the second-best revenue quarter in Apple’s history, Wu said.”
Full article here.
Advertisements:
• MacBook Pro. The first Mac notebook built upon Intel Core Duo with iLife ’06, Front Row and built-in iSight. Starting at $1999. Free shipping.
• iMac. Twice as amazing — Intel Core Duo, iLife ’06, Front Row media experience, Apple Remote, built-in iSight. Starting at $1299. Free shipping.
• iMac and MacBook Pro owners: Apple USB Modem. Easily connect to the Internet using dial-up service. $49.00.
• iPod Radio Remote. Listen to FM radio on your iPod and control everything with a convenient wired remote. Just $49.
• iPod. 15,000 songs. 25,000 photos. 150 hours of video. The new iPod. 30GB and 60GB models start at just $299. Free shipping.
• Connect iPod to your television set with the iPod AV Cable. Just $19.
Related articles:
Live coverage of Apple’s Q1 – 2006 financial results conference call – January 18, 2006
Apple shares take beating on lackluster second quarter forecast – January 18, 2006
Apple shares fall 7% to $76.70 after reporting Q1 results – January 18, 2006
Apple reports Q1 2006 earnings results: record revenue & earnings – January 18, 2006