Apple Profit Soars 73% as Sales Rise - New York Times

Apple Profit Soars 73% as Sales Rise - New York Times: "Apple on Wednesday reported a 73 percent jump in quarterly profit on strong sales of Macs and iPods, beating Wall Street forecasts. It also alleviated some concerns about early sales of the iPhone.

Investors were spooked on Tuesday when AT&T, which provides service for the phone, said it had activated just 146,000 iPhones in the day and a half from its release to the end of the quarter, far fewer than some analysts had expected. That sent Apple’s stock down 6 percent.

But Apple executives said on Wednesday that the company had actually sold 270,000 iPhones in that period, a number that seemed to calm investors’ fears. The executives said Apple expects to sell 1 million iPhones this quarter, and reiterated its goal of selling 10 million phones by the end of 2008. The company plans to release the phone in Europe in the fourth quarter.

“Our view is the starting gun has been fired and we’re off to a great start,” said Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer, in a conference call with analysts. “Our primary focus is not on initial sales but on creating a third business for Apple.”"