Rare Miss for Apple: Q4 Earnings Disappoint

Apple failed to set a sales record in the last three months of founder and CEO Steve Jobs' life. Its financial results came in below expectations—a rare miss for the company. After several record quarters, the July-to-September period saw Apple biding its time, with no new iPhone or iPad releases. (The iPhone 4S came out in October.) Net income in the fiscal fourth quarter was $6.62 billion, or $7.05 per share. That was up 54% from $4.31 billion, or $4.64 per share, a year ago.

Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting earnings of $7.28 per share. Revenue was $28.3 billion, up 39%. Analysts were expecting $29.4 billion. Apple sold 17.1 million iPhones in the quarter, well below analyst expectations and the 20.3 million sold in the third quarter. (More Apple stories.)