As Apple reports its highest quarterly revenue and earnings ever, a few numbers pop. One example: Apple has $97.6 billion in cash on hand, enough to buy Sony five times, or about half of Google.

Thomas Claburn, Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

January 24, 2012

3 Min Read

Apple had a record-breaking fiscal 2012 first quarter, the period spanning the last 14 weeks of 2011.

The company on Tuesday reported record quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.06 billion, which translates to $13.87 per diluted share.

Apple's stock was up about 8% in after-hours trading about two hours after the market closed, which put its share price at $454. At that value, Apple's market capitalization stands at $423 billion, more than previous market cap leader Exxon Mobil, worth $418 billion.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in a statement he was thrilled, and promised more exciting products are coming. CFO Peter Oppenheimer also said he was thrilled in a conference call for investors.

Cook attributed Apple's success to "the breathtaking customer reception" of the company's products. Here are a few of the relevant numbers:

46.33 billion
Apple's revenue for the last quarter of 2011 was 73% higher that it was in the same quarter in 2010. The company's net profit of $13.06 billion was more than Google's net revenue of $8.13 billion during the same quarter.

[ Verizon sold 4 million iPhones during the final quarter of 2011. Read Verizon: 44% Of Customers Use Smartphones. ]

37.04 million
Apple sold 37.04 million iPhones, representing 128% growth from the same quarter a year ago. Cook noted on the conference call that IDC pegged overall growth for the smartphone market at 40%.

15.43 million
That's the number of iPads sold, 111% more than the number sold in the year-ago quarter. Cook conceded that iPad sales are cannibalizing Mac sales but said the iPad is cannibalizing PC sales more. "It's winning market by market by market," he said. Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads since April of 2010.

97.6 billion
That's how much cash Apple has on hand. It's huge amount of money, enough to buy Sony five times or about half of Google. Oppenheimer noted that Apple is actively discussing with its board what to do with all that cash.

85 million
In three months, iCloud has attracted 85 million customers. "We're thrilled with it," said Cook. "It solved a lot of problems that customers had." No word on how many of them are paying for extra storage or services.

5.2 million
The number of Macs sold during the quarter was up 26% from the year-ago quarter. IDC saw a 0.2% decline in worldwide PC shipments during the fourth quarter of 2011.

110 million
That's the number of people who visited Apple retail stores during the quarter, up from 76 million in the year-ago quarter. Based on an average of 358 stores during the period--Apple now has 361--that works out to 22,000 visitors per store per week during Apple's 14 week reporting period. More than half the customers buying Macs from Apple stores have not previously owned a Mac.

What Apple Left Out
Apple said nothing about revenue from iAds or about whether anyone is using its Ping social network.

On Feb. 2, the percentage increase of iPad sales was corrected.

About the Author(s)

Thomas Claburn

Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

Thomas Claburn has been writing about business and technology since 1996, for publications such as New Architect, PC Computing, InformationWeek, Salon, Wired, and Ziff Davis Smart Business. Before that, he worked in film and television, having earned a not particularly useful master's degree in film production. He wrote the original treatment for 3DO's Killing Time, a short story that appeared in On Spec, and the screenplay for an independent film called The Hanged Man, which he would later direct. He's the author of a science fiction novel, Reflecting Fires, and a sadly neglected blog, Lot 49. His iPhone game, Blocfall, is available through the iTunes App Store. His wife is a talented jazz singer; he does not sing, which is for the best.

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