Apple has posted its first-quarter 2010 financial results, reporting a profit of $3.38 billion ($3.67 per share), which is up from $2.26 billion in the year-ago quarter. Revenue reached $15.68 billion, an increase from $11.88 billion in the previous year, and better than Wall Street's anticipated $11.21 to $12.6 billion on earnings of $2.07 a share.
It's hard to fully comprehend just how much cash that is, but it was reportedly Apple's best quarter ever. Cupertino shipped 3.36 million Macs (up 33% on-year), 8.7 million iPhones (up 100%) and 21 million iPods (down 8%). In a statement, CEO Steve Jobs said it was surprising that Apple is now a $50+ billion company, and the company's upcoming products are "very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we're really excited about."
Apple is expected to reveal a new tablet device this Wednesday, January 27, among other possible releases, but it has yet to officially announce what will be present. For the next quarter, the company (conservatively) foresees earnings of $2.06 to $2.18 per share and revenue of $11 to $11.4 billion.