Apple iPhone Sales Up 7% Last Quarter

Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones in the third quarter of this year, helping to make it the most profitable quarter ever for this company.

“We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve got a very strong lineup for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010.”

Smartphone sales were up 7% over the 6.9 million units sold in the same quarter a year ago. Sales of its iPod line were down 8% YOY -- 10.2 million of these music and video player were sold during the Jul-Sep period. The increase in iPhone sales is likely a factor in the iPod sales drop.

Apple took in $12.25 billion in the third quarter, but GAAP rules require the company to recognize revenue and cost of goods sold for the iPhone and Apple TV over their estimated economic lives. This reduced the reported revenue to $9.87 billion, for a net quarterly profit of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 per diluted share.

Source: Apple