Apple sold 5.2 million iPhones during Q2 2009

Apple has announced that 5.2 million iPhones were sold during Q 2 this year, which compared to last year, shows an increase of 626 percent year-over-year, when only 717,000 were sold during the same 2008 time frame.

Also, 10.2 million iPods were sold in Q2, which includes all models of the MP3 player. Compared to Q2 2008,  sales were down 7 percent.

Over 40 million iPhones and iPod touches have been sold to date and the App Store just passed the 1.5 billion download mark.

On the Mac front, 2.6 million were sold which is up 4 percent from a year ago.

Apple reported $8.34 billion in revenue with a net profit of $1.23 billion for the quarter as well.

Steve Jobs is one happy man, we reckon.

Full thing after the break courtesy of Reuters.

Thanks, PocketGamer.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc posted a quarterly profit that blew past Wall Street forecasts thanks to strong sales of Mac computers and improved margins, sending its shares up more than 3 percent on Tuesday.

The company defied the global economic recession and reported a net profit of $1.23 billion, or $1.35 a share, for its fiscal third quarter ended June 27, up from $1.07 billion, or $1.19 a share, in the year-ago period.

Earnings per share beat by far the average Street forecast of $1.18, according to Reuters Estimates, and topped even the most bullish "whisper" numbers of $1.30 to $1.35.

"Obviously it's a phenomenal beat, particularly on the bottom line, printing $1.35. We were at $1.17," said Daniel Ernst, analyst at Hudson Square Research. "It demonstrates operating efficiencies. Most of the numbers were better than expected, particularly the Macs."

Revenue rose 12 percent to $8.3 billion, versus analysts' average estimate of $8.2 billion.

Analysts had some concern heading into the earnings about margin pressure, given price cuts on the iPhone and the trend of higher component costs.

But Apple posted a gross margin of 36.3 percent, which beat the 34 percent that some analysts had predicted. That compared with 36.4 percent in the last quarter and 34.8 percent a year ago.

The results demonstrated the consumer appeal of Apple's products despite a troubled world economy that has dented sales at competitors selling less expensive products. Investors have snapped up Apple's stock this year, pushing it up at a pace well ahead of other big technology issues.

Sales of Macs and iPhones beat expectations in the June quarter, while iPod sales were toward the low end of forecasts.

Apple said it sold 2.6 million Macs, up 4 percent from a year ago, benefiting from a refresh last quarter and lower prices on laptops.

It sold 5.2 million iPhones in the June quarter, during which it had launched its third-generation iPhone 3GS and cut the price on the second-generation model to $99.

It shipped 10.2 million iPods, down 7 percent year on year.

Apple issued a typically conservative outlook for the current quarter, forecasting earnings of $1.18 to $1.23 a share on revenue of $8.7 billion to $8.9 billion.

Shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple closed at $151.60 on Nasdaq and rose to $157.02 in extended trading.