QUARTERLY EARNINGS
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Apple Profits Surge 47% on iPhones, Macs
iPhone, Mac sales lead to blowout quarter
By Jason Farago
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Posted Oct 20, 09 3:00 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Apple rocketed to a 47% increase in quarterly profits as consumers kept buying iPhones and Macs through the recession, helped by a price drop and overseas expansion. The company posted a profit of $1.67 billion last night, exceeding even the highest expectations on the Street. The biggest surprise was the 17% jump in sales of Macs, besting the 7% increase in iPhones. "The big story is the renewed ascendancy of the Mac," one analyst tells Reuters.
Shares in the giant of Cupertino jumped more than 6% on the news, breaking through the $200 barrier. "I'm shocked," one tech analyst said of the results. After good results for Intel and Google, Apple's banner profits suggest that the tech industry has come out of its worst period in years. "This quarter really signals that we're coming out of the trough," an analyst tells the Wall Street Journal. "You don't see too many blow-out quarters like that, especially when you're the size of Apple."