[NewsPoster]

Apple has announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 fourth quarter ended September 29, 2012. The company posted quarterly revenue of $36 billion and quarterly net profit of $8.2 billion. The Q4 results compare to revenue of $28.3 billion and net profit of $6.6 billion in the same quarter last year. Gross margin was 40 percent compared to 40.3 percent in the year-ago quarter, while international sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarterly revenue.

"We're very proud to end a fantastic fiscal year with record September quarter results," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. "We're entering this holiday season with the best iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod products ever, and we remain very confident in our new product pipeline." Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer noted that Apple has generated over $41 billion in net profits and $50 billion in operating cash flow in its fiscal 2012. He expects revenue to reach $52 billion in the first fiscal quarter of 2013, which will include the holiday shopping season.

[Zanziboy]

Now, that's the kind of quarter I'm talking about! I think with iPhone 5 rolling more smoothly through the production lines at Foxconn and the new IPads, MacBooks, and Mac Mini's, Apple should be in a good position for their Q1.

But, my only worry for Apple's Q1 is whether the late availability (November and December) of some of their new products may put a slight damper on sales as it will be harder to shift the older inventory. For example, the 27" iMac won't be available until December. While iMacs do not account for a large component of total revenue, the margins are good on the iMacs and it would be a shame if some customers are not able to get a 27" for before Christmas.

But, all in all, Q1 should be full of good news.