Apple booms but is Twitter bust? $11bn profit for Cook as Dorsey in doldrums

Apple has reported a 30% rise in quarterly profits to $11.1bn (£7.3bn), with the sale of 48 million iPhones being credited. The tech company, which is increasingly relying on healthy iPhone sales to drive profits, said its figures contained only two days of sales for its latest models - the 6S and 6S Plus - which became available last month. As a result, Apple said it expected to beat last year’s record of 74.5 million iPhones sold in the Christmas holiday quarter.

This continued success is the result of our commitment to making the best, most innovative products on earth, and it’s a testament to the tremendous execution by our teams.

Apple boss Tim Cook

Apple remains the world’s biggest company by market value despite its share price remaining about 15% off the highs it achieved during the summer. Meanwhile, another tech innovator, Twitter, continues to struggle. Shares fell 12% after-hours after the loss-making social network reported another quarter of slowing user growth. Although revenues surged ahead - growing by 58% on the same period a year earlier to $569.2m - user numbers grew by only 11% year-on-year in the third quarter of its financial year - down from a rate of 15% over the previous three months to total 320 million.

We’ve simplified our roadmap and organisation around a few big bets across Twitter, Periscope, and Vine that we believe represent our largest opportunities for growth.

Twitter boss Jack Dorsey

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