Apple's Third Quarter Financial Results.

Today, Apple released financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2012. The results are a good follow-up to the second quarter of 2012.

The Numbers

• Revenue was $35.0 billion, an increase of 22% year-over-year
• Profit was $8.8 billion, an increase of 21% year-over-year
• Earnings per share were $9.32, an increase of 20% year-over-year
• Cash flow was increased by $7 billion
• Gross margin was 42.8%, up from 41.7% year-over-year

iPhone

Apple sold 26.0 million iPhones, representing an increase of 28% year-over-year. The iPhone accounted for $16.2 billion in revenue - an increase of 22% year-over-year - and comprised 46% of the total quarterly revenue. These are pretty solid results given the rampant rumors of the next-generation iPhone.

iPad

Apple sold a record 17 million iPads in the quarter, an increase of 84% year-over-year. The iPad accounted for $9.1 billion in revenue - an increase of 50% year-over-year - and comprised 26% of the quarterly revenue. Not bad for a device that is supposedly consumption-only.

iPod

The iPod again saw declining sales. Year-over-year sales dropped 12% to 6.8 million units, with iPod touch comprising around 2 million.¹ Despite the decline, Apple still claims a 70% market share in music players.

Mac

Apple sold 4 millions Macs - 1.2 million desktops and 2.8 million laptops - representing a tepid 1.8% year-over-year increase. Despite the marginal growth, sales still represent a record for the June quarter. This is the 25th consecutive quarter that Apple has outpaced the PC market.

Apple TV

The Apple TV saw sales of 1.3 million units. For perspective on those numbers, the Apple TV just outsold the XBox 360. Not bad for a product still described as a “hobby.”

Take-aways

In this transition quarter, Apple still beat last year’s numbers by a healthy percentage. The iPad is dominating the tablet market and just sold a record number of units. The iPhone also remained strong. Apple has now sold over 410 million iOS devices - devices that now have access to over 650,000 apps. Even the Apple TV saw strong sales.

Looking forward, Apple will release Mountain Lion tomorrow, the updated MacBook line will have a full quarter of sales to drive Mac growth, there will be a new iPhone later this year, and potentially a new 8" iPad. Things are looking good in Cupertino for another solid quarter of sales over the next three months.