Apple delivers another record quarter as profit soars 125%, stock reaches all-time high

Apple has delivered yet another record quarter for results, sending its shares to a new all-time high as the company posted a profit of more than $7 billion on revenue of $28.57 billion, with more than 20 million iPhones sold.

The revelation sent Apple’s shares to over $US400 in after-market trading, with the tech giant also confirming that its iPad business is up by 183% – growing faster than the iPhone business.

It also confirmed the next version of Mac OS X, nicknamed “Lion”, will launch tomorrow.

“We’re thrilled to deliver our best quarter ever, with revenue up 82% and profits up 125%,” chief executive Steve Jobs, who is still on medical leave, said in a statement. “Right now, we’re very focused and excited about bringing iOS 5 and iCloud to our users this fall.”

Analysts have welcomed the announcement with open arms, with one JPMorgan analyst even upgrading stock forecasts to $US450 and claiming that the tech giant is actually undervalued.

Apple announced $28.57 billion in revenue for the quarter, almost $5 billion higher than its guidance and $4 billion ahead of estimates. Profit was $US7.31 billion, beating the last holiday quarter’s results of $US6 billion.

This quarter also saw the highest iPhone and iPad sales ever. The company sold 20.24 million iPhones, beating forecasts of 16.5 million, with iPad units selling 9.25 million units, beating expectations of 7.8 million.

However, chief operating officer Tim Cook admitted that “some customers chose to purchase an iPad instead of a Mac”, but noted that “even more decided to buy an iPad over a Windows PC”.

“We sold every iPad 2 in the quarter that we could make. There certainly was not a shortage of demand. We are also gaining traction in the enterprise.”

Apple noted Mac sales were particularly strong in the Asia-Pacific region.

Cook also pointed out there is strong demand for iPads in the educational sector. Revenue from iPads and iPad accessories has grown 179% to $US6 billion, while revenue from desktop and laptop computers was just $US5.1 billion.

Some other figures included the fact Apple now has details for 225 million iTunes accounts, with more than 15 billion songs downloaded. Over 222 million iOS devices were sold, with $US2.5 billion in payments set out to developers.

Chief operating officer Peter Oppenheimer pointed out these numbers are “tricky” when comparing to Android’s 550,000 activations every day, but also said rival tablets “aren’t getting any traction to speak of”.

“We sold every iPad 2 in the quarter that we could make. There certainly was not a shortage of demand. We are also gaining traction in the enterprise.”

The company’s gross margin is at 41.7%, and now holds cash reserves of $US76.2 billion.

But while business in the iPad and iPhone divisions continues to soar, results for iPod models have continued to fall, stoking rumours that the entry-level models will eventually be killed off with the iPod Touch replaced as the “basic” version.

iPods sold just 7.5 million units in the third quarter, dropping from nine million in the second.

But despite the strong results, analysts are expecting bigger things to come. JPMorgan has already forecast Apple stock to reach $US450, with shares already reaching a new high overnight.

The results also come as a new Wall Street Journal report suggests Apple may be contemplating a succession plan, with Steve Jobs still away on medical leave. Although the chief executive is quoted as saying, “I think it’s hogwash”, the publication has prompted questions about whether the board is looking behind Jobs’ back for a potential candidate.