Apple Reports Record Quarter, Despite Missing the Street’s Expectations

It’s that time again, Apple has posted its earnings for Q4 just ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings call. Apple set multiple records in the 4th quarter of the 2011 fiscal year, including quarterly revenue, and quarterly net profit.

But the Cupertino company’s report doesn’t come without some bad news. For the first time since 2002, Apple missed Wall Street’s projected earnings, selling less iPhones and iPods than analysts expected. And shareholders are showing their disappointment…

Apple’s stock closed today near the company’s all time high of $422 per share. However, since it posted its 4th quarter earnings, Apple’s stock has dipped over 6% ($396 per share) in after hours trading. Here are the numbers, courtesy of BusinessInsider:

  • iPhone units sold: 17.1 million vs. an expected 22 million
  • iPad units sold: 11.1 million vs. an expected 10 million
  • iPod units sold: 6.62 million vs. an expected 6.9 million
  • Mac units sold: 4.89 million vs. an expected 4.5 million
  • Revenue: $28.3 billion vs. an expected $29.41 billion

Apple’s low smartphone sales are being attributed to the company’s 4 month delay in launching its refreshed iPhone model this year. Perhaps a lot of folks were expecting a new iPhone release, and refused to upgrade until one was announced.

Even though Apple missed iPhone and iPod sales targets, it still hit the mark with the iPad and Mac. I’m not sure what everyone on Wall Street is so worried about, the company still set a record in quarterly net profit. Isn’t profit the bottom line?