$28.3 Billion: Record Apple Earnings, But Disappointed Analysts

ROBERT GALBRAITH / REUTERS

Apple has just released its fourth quarter earnings, reporting "quarterly revenue of $28.27 billion and quarterly net profit of $6.62 billion, or $7.05 per diluted share." The same quarter last year, Apple posted "revenue of $20.34 billion and net quarterly profit of $4.31 billion, or $4.64 per diluted share."

It's a new September-quarter record for the company, though earnings fell short of analyst expectations of $29.4 billion. Apple sold just over 17 million iPhones—a 21% increase over Q4 last year; just over 11 million iPads—up 166% over Q4 last year; and almost five million Macs—up 26% over Q4 last year. Sales of iPods continued to decline—down 27% over Q4 last year, likely cannibalized by iPod features built into the iPhone and iPad.

Apple's earnings call is available here.

"I'm confident we'll set an all-time record for iPhones this quarter," said CEO Tim Cook, alluding to the iPhone 4S' big opening weekend that saw four million units purchased. Those will count for the December quarter, as Apple's most recent quarter ended in September before the 4S shipped.

(MORE: Apple iPhone 4S Review: It's the iPhone 4, Only More So)

When asked about Amazon's $200 Kindle Fire tablet and its ability to compete with the iPad, Cook said, "We've seen several competitors come to market to try to compete with the iPad... I think it's reasonable to say that none of these have gained traction over time." Cook cited the iPad's extensive app catalog, new iOS features and iCloud integration before saying, "I feel very, very confident about our ability to compete."