Apple Shows Strength in Core Mac, iPod Businesses

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) on Wednesday posted a 36 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by strong sales of its Macintosh computers and iPod media players, but its cautious outlook disappointed investors.

Shares edged lower after the company, known for conservative financial forecasts, also gave a profit outlook for its current quarter that was below Wall Street estimates.

Apple said it expected earnings of $1.00 per share on revenue of $7.2 billion for its fiscal third quarter. Wall Street was looking for earnings per share of $1.11 and revenue of $7.17 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

Net profit for its fiscal second quarter ended in March was $1.05 billion, or $1.16 per share, compared with $770 million, or 87 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue was $7.51 billion, up 43 percent.

The results beat the average analyst forecasts for revenue of $6.95 billion and earnings per share of $1.07, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company said it sold 2.29 million Mac computers in the quarter, topping the 2.04 million to 2.2 million range of five analysts’ forecasts.

Apple sold 10.6 million iPods and 1.7 million iPhones in the quarter. Analysts were mostly looking for iPod shipments in the range of 9.5 million to 11 million, and iPhone sales in the 1.4 million to 1.8 million range.

Shares of Apple initially rose about 4 percent on the report, but quickly erased gains to trade at $159.25 versus their NASDAQ close of $162.89.