iPhone Sales Engine (Again) Elevates Apple In Third Quarter

Propelled yet again by skyrocketing iPhone sales, Apple on Tuesday posted exceptional results for the third quarter ended June 27, edging out analysts' expectations.

Apple CEO Tim Cook praised third-quarter iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales as attracting both new high-end and former Android phone users, as well as cranking the company forward in a quarter that is typically a struggling point for smartphone sales.

"We look at it as our job to grow our products regardless of the price, which means we need to convince people to move from one price point to another," he told analysts during the call. "If you look at the iPhone, you will see that in action."

[Related: Apple Earnings: 5 Things Partners Are Itching To Hear More About]

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The company said it sold 47.5 million iPhones, up 35 percent from the same quarter a year ago, charging earnings of $1.85 per share on sales of $49.61 billion.

The earnings results inched out estimates of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicting $1.81 per share on sales of $49.43 billion, and were about 33 percent higher than the same quarter a year ago.

The earnings came as no surprise to solution providers like Douglas Grosfield, president and CEO of Cambridge, Ontario-based Xylotek Solutions, who said he was bullish on Apple but that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company needed to be wary of macroeconomic woes.

"Apple will surprise no one with their third-quarter results, despite the third quarter historically being slower from an earnings perspective, as the overseas market provided a surge in sales with the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units," said Grosfield. "However, having China create an anomalous uptick in sales has to be considered just that, pennies from heaven, as the global economic concerns related to European financial woes will have an impact, even on China."

Grosfield also warned that "accelerated sales volume in a geographic area often also means some degree of market saturation in the short term, and can mean a related decline in sales is on the horizon -- every action has an equal and opposite reaction."

Meanwhile, sales of the iPad fell about 18 percent, marking a sixth quarter of year-over-year declines, while the Mac business marked a brighter spot, as Mac sales increased 9 percent year over year.

Cook remained mum on Apple Watch sales, stating that sales of Apple's newest product, released in April, "exceeded expectations," but that he didn't want to reveal any numbers that might "give our competition insight on a product that we've worked really hard on."

Despite the solid earnings, stocks dropped 7 percent, to $121.63, in after-hours trading.

Looking ahead, partners like Michael Oh, chief technology officer and founder of Boston-based TSP LLC, an Apple partner, continue to remain optimistic on Apple's outlook, particularly for enterprise customers, as the company's iOS 9 upgraded features for iPads, like multitasking, are released in the fall.

"The sales that Apple posted have been on par with what we've traditionally seen at this point of the year," said Oh. "At Worldwide Developers Conference, we saw a lot of foundational work, nothing that was amazingly revolutionary for end users the sink their teeth into. The fruits of that labor will show once iOS 9 is released and build to a strong holiday quarter."

PUBLISHED JULY 21, 2015