Apple Computer"s third-quarter revenue fell a little short ofexpectations, but profitability was far higher than expected and Macsales increased at a healthy clip.
Revenue was $4.37 billion, up 24 percent from last year"s quarterly revenue of $3.52 billion. Net income was $472 million, or 54 cents pershare, an improvement of 48 percent compared with last year"s resultsof $320 million in net income and 37 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had been expecting Apple to report $4.4 billionin revenue and earn 44 cents per share.
Mac sales were up 12 percent compared with last year, during what was considered a poor quarter for the PC market. Apple said 75 percent of all Macs sold during the period used Intel"s chips.
The outlook for the next period will probably disappoint some investors. The company predicted fourth-quarter revenue would be about $4.5 billion to $4.6 billion, less than the $4.9 billion analysts had been expecting. Apple executives will hold a conference call later Wednesday to discuss their results.