Apple just announced its Q1 2012 earnings with big numbers and big profits. The company made a record $46.33 billion in revenue and a record net profit of $13.06 billion — in a single quarter. The introduction of the iPhone 4S and the continued success of the iPad 2 really helped to boost its numbers into the near-absurd category.
Gross margin was up to 44.7 percent this quarter as compared to 38.5 percent in Q1 2011, but don’t be fooled: gigantic sales numbers played an even more important role in the company’s best quarter yet. Apple sold 37.04 million iPhones, 15.43 million iPads, a very close 15.4 million iPods, and 5.2 million Macs. These are up 128 percent, 111 percent, 26 percent, and down 21 percent from the comparable quarter in 2011, respectively.
“We’re thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. CFO Peter Oppenheimer, also enthusiastic, focused on the enormous profits in his statement and made a prediction for Q2. “We are very happy to have generated over $17.5 billion in cash flow from operations during the December quarter. Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2012, which will span 13 weeks, we expect revenue of about $32.5 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $8.50.”
Its iPhones are clearly the big winner here, while the iPod market continues its gradual decline as more people buy smartphones with built-in music players. Last quarter, Apple sold 17.1 million iPhones and 11.1 million iPads.