“At first glance, Apple disappointed Wall Street with its fiscal first-quarter results published late Wednesday. This was the first full quarter in which the iPhone 5 was available. In particular, at 47.8 million, the number of iPhones the company sold came in at the low end of analysts’ expectations. iPad unit sales of 22.9 million were also short of some forecasts,” Rolfe Winkler reports for The Wall Street Journal. “As a result, Apple shares dived nearly 10% after the market closed, leaving the company with a market capitalization of about $437 billion. Backing out Apple’s cash pile of $137 billion, that implies a valuation of less than eight times 2013 expected earnings.”
Winkler reports, “But were the results really that bad? At 13 weeks, this year’s fiscal first quarter was a week shorter than last year’s, making comparisons difficult. IPhone unit sales were up 29% in the quarter versus the prior year’s 14-week quarter, while iPad sales were up 48%. Unit sales per day, however, showed bigger jumps: 39% for the iPhone and 60% for iPads. Overall, revenue was up 18%, but on a fairer per-day basis, it jumped 27%. Meanwhile, despite the shorter quarter, earnings per share of $13.81 were actually better than the consensus estimate of $13.48... Clearly, Apple didn’t provide the kind of blowout quarter many have grown accustomed to. But the results aren’t the total disaster implied by the market meltdown.”
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