For the second straight quarter, Apple has blown away analyst forecasts to post record revenues. Net income in Q4 2009 compared to the same quarter in 2008 jumped 50% to a record $3.4 billion.
Apple's overall sales are up 32% to a record $15.7 billion. Analysts had predicted the company would make $12.1 billion in sales. New accounting laws made it possible for Apple to report iPhone and Apple TV revenues immediately instead of having to spread them out over the length of a consumer's contract.
First quarter mobile phone sales may be off almost nine percent from last year, however the smartphone market continues to heat up. Gartner reports that Apple has doubled its market share from last year, with sales of 3.9 million iPhones in Q1 2009, representing 10.8 percent of global smartphone sales.
Nokia still leads the pack with 41.2 percent, although this is a decrease from last year's 45.1 percent market share. Research In Motion sales also jumped from 13.3 percent market share in Q1 2008 to 19.9 percent during the same period this year, partly due to the popularity of the BlackBerry Storm.
