Apple reports record 1Q profit

SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Apple Inc. on Wednesday posted a record profit in its fiscal first quarter, beating Wall Street estimates as earnings rose 78 percent amid strong holiday sales of its iPod music players and Macintosh computers.

During the final three months of 2006, the Cupertino-based company Apple said it earned $1 billion, or $1.14 per share, compared to $565 million, or 65 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue for the quarter hit a record, reaching $7.1 billion, up 24 percent from $5.7 billion the previous year.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 78 cents per share on sales of $6.42 billion, according to a Thomson Financial poll.

"This one was for the record books," Apple's chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said in an interview.

Apple shipped 1.6 million Macs and more than 21 million iPods during the quarter, representing a growth of 28 percent and 50 percent respectively from the year-ago holiday season.

Shares of Apple closed down $2.15 at $94.95 on the Nasdaq Stock Market as the tech stocks in general tumbled. In extended trading following its report, Apple shares fell another 19 cents.