On April 24th, Apple announced results for the company's 2nd fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2012. For the quarter Apple reported revenue of $39.186 billion and earnings of $12.30 per fully diluted share. These results represent year-over-year revenue growth of 58.9% and eps growth of 92.2%.
Apple's results for the March quarter exceeded Wall Street estimates by a country mile and in after hours trading the shares retraced recently lost ground and closed the session above $600.
Apple has transformed from being the maker of individual product lines to a purveyor of an integrated device and services eco-system. The March quarter results demonstrate the company's growing global dominance of the both the smartphone and emerging tablet device markets while extending Apple's leadership in offering a broadening array of content for these devices.
I've titled this article Apple's March Quarter Results: The Good, The Bad and The Irrelevant. I'd like to take each of these qualifiers in turn.
The Good
In the March quarter Apple sold 35.064 million iPhones, representing an 88% year-over-year increase in units sold. The iPhone gained market share among subscribers at Verizon and AT&T despite the sequential decline in domestic iPhone sales.
In the March quarter, Apple shipped 11.798 million iPads, representing 151% year-over-year unit sales growth.
Apple's Asia-Pacific Region delivered 114% revenue growth based on strong demand for the popular iPhone 4S handset with ongoing product demand.
The revenue segment inclusive of iTunes delivered 32% revenue growth to $2.151 billion and the revenue total exceeded revenue from iPod sales by 78%, signaling while the iPod line continues its decline, Apple's revenue generated from content sales and services for iOS-based devices continues to rise.
