With ‘staggering’ iPhone sales, Apple returns record profit

Apple Inc.’s quarterly results smashed Wall Street expectations, with record sales of big-screen iPhones during the holiday shopping season and a 70 percent rise in China sales powering the company to the largest profit in corporate history. The company sold 74.5 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter that ended Dec. 27, while many analysts had expected fewer than 70 million. Revenue rose to $74.6 billion from $57.6 billion a year earlier. Apple’s cash pile is now $178 billion, enough to buy IBM, or the equivalent of $556 for every American.

It’s an incredible market. People love Apple products. And we are going to do our best to serve the market.

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told Reuters in an interview that the company did not sell more iPhones in China than the United States, despite some earlier predictions by research analysts. But the big-screen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus drove revenues in China up 70 percent in the quarter from a year earlier. The company’s success in the competitive Chinese market can be attributed to its partnership with China Mobile Ltd, the largest global mobile carrier, and the appeal of the larger screen size of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

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