Jobs: Apple Is Third Largest Handset Supplier

Though he typically shies away from company earnings calls, Steve Jobs took the mic on Tuesday to announce that Apple is now the third-largest mobile phone supplier in the world.

Jobs stated that the company’s $4.6 billion in iPhone revenues this quarter place it right behind mobile phone giants Nokia ($12.7 billion for the quarter) and Samsung ($5.9 billion). This puts Apple ahead of Sony Ericsson ($4.2 billion), LG ($3.4 billion), Motorola ($3.2 billion) and RIM ($2.1 billion).

Calling the revolutionary handset "stunning," Jobs was also excited to share that Apple sold more handsets in the fourth quarter than Research In Motion.   

"This is a milestone for us," Jobs said. "RIM is a company that makes good products, and it’s surprising after only 15 months in the market we could outsell them in any quarters. If this isn’t stunning, I don’t know what it is. All due to the incredible performance of the iPhone 3G."

Additionally, the company said it has already surpassed its goal of selling 10
million iPhones within the 2008 calendar year. The iPhone saw tremendous growth during the fourth quarter of 2008 alone, selling about 7 million units of the new iPhone 3G compared to 1 million units of the first-generation iPhone sold in the same quarter of 2007.   

Complementing the handset’s success, Apple’s iPods also saw positive results, selling about 11 million units over the quarter.

Altogether,
Apple posted $11.68 billion in revenue for the quarter; iPhone sales accounted for 39 percent of that total. Using GAAP figures,
Apple posted $7.9 billion in revenue for the quarter. The company saw
17-percent revenue growth and 21-percent unit growth in its fourth-quarter earnings, for a net quarterly profit of $1.14
billion, or $1.26 per diluted share. Overall, Apple performed above analysts’ estimates of $1.11 per share and its own forecast of $1 per share.

Before Apple’s earnings report, some Apple enthusiasts deduced from looking at iPhone hardware ID numbers (IMEIs) that the company had already achieved the goal — and they were correct.

The profits should put Apple in a good position for what promises to be a challenging year ahead. In response to Apple’s Oct. 14 notebook announcement, some analysts said Apple is particularly vulnerable to the coming recession because its premium-brand computers are generally higher priced.

"There will be a lot of people looking at a lot of stuff at the Apple Store, and they’ll probably come out with [iPod] nanos or shuffles," said Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies. "That’s what people are going to feel like they’re going to afford this year."

Jobs stressed that it was difficult to determine how the economic downturn would affect Apple’s sales.

"First let me say that we are not economists," Jobs said. "Your next door neighbor can likely predict what’s going to happen as accurately as we can…. We have the best customers … and they’re unlikely to abandon the quality and seamless integration they’ve personally experienced and become accustomed to with Apple’s products. The economic downturn is more likely to delay [interested buyers] than switch."

Apple stock closed down 7.06 percent, or $6.95, at $91.49. However, the stock rebounded in after-hours trading at $93.32, up $1.83 or 2 percent.

Photo: dfarber/Flickr