Investors are Sweet on Apple
Monday, October 22, 2007SUSIE GHARIB: Sweet earnings late today from Apple. After the bell, the company reported a 62 percent jump in its fiscal fourth quarter profits, sending its shares soaring over 5 percent in after-hours trading. The company earned $1.01 a share, clobbering analysts' expectations of $0.86. Revenue jumped 29 percent to $6.2 billion, up from $4.8 billion in the year ago period. Apple's success comes from sales of its Macintosh computers and iPod music players, not just from its much- hyped iPhone. Rod Bare, equity analyst at Morningstar says Apple benefits from having such a diverse product line.
ROD BARE, EQUITY ANALYST, MORNINGSTAR: It's nice to see that the legacy products continue to do well. The Macintosh line continues to be quite profitable. The iPod line has been very exciting to watch for the past three or four years. Competition, you know in that space is increasing. So if that matures, that's expected. But what's nice is Apple has the iPhone family to pick up the slack and run, you know, for the next few years.
PRATT: Apple also said late today it plans to open its first store in China within the next year. Analyst Rob Bare says Apple's retail expansion is a good thing. But anemic sales in Japan show moving into Asia will not be easy for the company.
