Apple, the juggernaut, stumbles overseas
(Read article summary)Apple reported a less than stellar Q3. But there are bright spots – including the top-selling iPad.
Apple is a juggernaut. Apple rarely stumbles. Apple has enough cash on hand to create a real life Scrooge McDuck money pit. A couple times over.
Which is what makes the sub-par Q3 earnings report such a surprise. In a report delivered yesterday, Apple revealed that it had sold 26 million iPhones in Q3 of 2012 – up from the same quarter last year, but down from last quarter, when Apple sold 35.1 million iPhones. Meanwhile, net income for the quarter was reported at $8.82 billion, which missed analyst predictions and helped send shares down 5 percent.
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Obviously, we aren't talking about a complete calamity here. $8.82 billion is $8.82 billion, no matter which way you slice it, and the arrival of a new iPhone later this year will likely drive up Apple smart phone sales all over again. Moreover, as Ian Paul of PC World notes, amid the semi-gloom, there is at least one seriously bright spot for Apple: The iPad. Apple has sold a whopping 84 million iPads since the device first launched in 2010.
