Apple shares tumble following poor outlook

Fall $44 in less than a month

22 January 2008 23:48 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Apple has announced its first quarter results on Tuesday however following the financial results shares fell on the stock market by over 3.5%.

According to the Apple, it shipped 2,319,000 Mac computers, representing 44% unit growth and 47% revenue growth over the year-ago quarter.

“Apple’s revenue grew 35 percent year-over-year to $9.6 billion, an increase of almost $2.5 billion over the previous December quarter’s record-breaking results”, said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO.

At the same time it sold 22,121,000 iPods representing 5% unit growth and 17% revenue growth while sales of the iPhone were 2,315,000 globally.

The company however didn't break out iPhone sales by territory suggesting as rumoured, poor sales in the UK and Europe.

“We’re thrilled to report our best quarter ever, with the highest revenue and earnings in Apple’s history”, said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.

However analysts don't seem as excited with shares in the company dropping to $156 as close of market on Tuesday in the US.

The price is $44 down from when the shares broke $200 for the first time in late December.

The results "disappointed investors and gave a forecast that fell short of analysts' estimates" according to Bloomberg, while CNN reported the company, who announced the MacBook Air at the beginning of January, "provided weaker-than-expected guidance for its current fiscal quarter".