iPhone does it again for Apple, Q3 profits beat analyst estimates

San Francisco: Apple Inc'squarterly revenue and earnings beat Wall Street's targets on surprisingly strong sales of its flagship iPhone, sending its shares up 4 percent.

But profit slid 22 percent in its fiscal third quarter as margins were pressured by growing competition and a wider array of lower-end devices such as older smartphones.

Apple earned $6.9 billion, or $7.47 a share, on revenue of $35.3 billion. That compared with a profit of $8.8 billion, or $9.32 a share, on revenue of about $35 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Wall Street's average forecast was for revenue of $35.02 billion and earnings per share of $7.32, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Reuters