How does this work: the economy is in a recession and people are losing jobs at an alarming rate and Apple just had a record breaking quarter. You heard right folks, our favorite fruit company just reported record sales, revenue and profits. Read Apple’s official press release if you don’t believe us.

MacRumors sums it up very nicely.

Next quarters guidance isn’t so rosy but that’s to be expected and of course, Apple’s guidance is always very, very conservative.

Tags:corporate, earnings, financials

Bloomberg.com is reporting that the SEC is looking into disclosures regarding Steve Jobs health. “to ensure that investors weren’t misled, a person familiar with the matter said”.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s review doesn’t mean investigators have seen evidence of wrongdoing, the person said, declining to be identified because the inquiry isn’t public. Bloomberg News reported last week that Jobs is considering a liver transplant as a result of complications after treatment for cancer, citing people who are monitoring his illness.

Stay tuned...

Tags:corporate, steve jobs

The Los Angels Times business section has posted an online article about Apple COO Tim Cook being pegged as Steve Jobs replacement while the latter is out on medical leave.

Through a series of roles, most recently chief operating officer, Cook fixed what ailed Apple in the mid-1990s: poor product quality, spotty availability and absurdly high prices. His reward: For the second time in five years, Jobs this week tapped Cook to run the company while the chief executive takes a medical leave.

The article is a good read especially for any jumpy, trigger happy Apple share holders. Cook is a very well regarded supply chain manager and is eminently qualified to run Apple during Jobs convalescence.

Read more...

Tags:corporate, steve jobs

In case you haven't heard, Apple reported $7.9 billion in revenue last quarter and generated $1.14 billion in profits. That's a lot of doughnuts.

"Apple just reported one of the best quarters in its history, with a spectacular performance by the iPhone -- we sold more phones than RIM," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We don't yet know how this economic downturn will affect Apple. But we're armed with the strongest product line in our history, the most talented employees and the best customers in our industry. And $25 billion of cash safely in the bank with zero debt."

MacRumors has the complete lowdown and breakdown of Apple's fourth quarter results.

John Gruber of Daring Fireball fame has posted an interesting piece on how the iPhone fits into all this.

The entire iPhone platform is only 15 months old. The cheapest model still costs $199. The room for growth in this market is unlike anything Apple has ever seen. So the question is: Despite continuing strong iPod sales and record-breaking Mac sales, how long until the iPhone is undeniably the primary product and platform made by Apple?

It's an interesting piece and well worth a read.

Tags:corporate, financials