Apple Earnings Miss, Margins Slide … Peak of an Era? (AAPL)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is out with its fiscal 2011-end earnings report. The largest company by market cap reported earnings of $7.05 EPS and $28.27 billion in revenues. Thomson Reuters had estimates of $7.28 EPS and $29.45 billion in revenues and the company had previously guided to “about $5.50 on EPS” and revenues of about $25 billion. The stock is down in the after-hours session but the blame is likely going to center around the notion that order delays were because of the buyers waiting for the new iPhone.

As far as guidance for the quarter ahead, the company sees about $9.30 EPS and sees about $37 billion in revenues; Thomson Reuters has estimates for the coming quarter of $8.98 EPS and $36.63 billion in revenue. We would note between this last quarter that the guidance is actually above estimates when the traditional norm has been to underpromise and to ovedeliver.

There were 17.07 million iPhones sold, up 21% but still less than many hoped. Again, this may be the delay of orders due to the new iPhone release, which just hit and which already set records.

Apple sold 11.12 million iPads during the quarter, up 166% from a year ago; it also sold 4.89 million Mac units, up 26% from a year ago. iPod sales were down 27% to 6.62 million units.

Gross margin was 40.3%, up from 36.9% in the year-ago quarter. This matters though because the gross margin one sequential quarter earlier was reported as having been 41.7%. International sales were up again and came in at 63% of revenues in the quarter.

Shares hit a new high of $424.81 today and the stock closed up 0.5% at $422.24. The after-hours session has shares down almost $25.00 to just under $400.00.

Again, some will be defending the numbers and will write off the quarter due to the iPhone launch. Others will not be as nice. We did not want to write this headline but others might: “Apple’s First Earnings Miss: The New Post-Steve Jobs Era.”

JON C. OGG