Apple reported fourth quarter revenue of $20.34 billion on Monday, significantly higher than 4Q revenues of $12.21 billion reported for last year. Net income was $4.3 billion, ($4.64 per share), compared to last year’s $2.53 billion ($2.77 per a share). The big sale item was the iPhone, with the number of units sold increasing 91 percent from last year—14.1 million were sold. Macs also showed an increase, with 27 percent more units sold. In contrast, the number of iPods sold declined 11 percent since last year’s fourth quarter.

The one disappointment was the iPad, which sold 4.19 million units. Apple had hoped to sell over 5 million. This could be remedied in the coming quarter, which includes the holiday season and an agreement reached with Walmart to carry the iPad. Apple is confident that the next quarter will be even more profitable than this one, and says, “We still have a few surprises left for the remainder of this calendar year.”

The surprises may come earlier than expected. Some observers believe that Apple may release a new generation Mac operating system at a media event scheduled for Wednesday. It has also been suggested that Apple may release the next generation of the ultra-thin MacBook Air, which has not seen any major updates since 2008.

For the really big spenders, Stuart Hughes has been decking out iPhones with their own unique flair. The cost of a gold and platinum iPhone decked out with diamonds to stuff in someone’s Christmas stocking? A mere $4 million.
Read More at the Business Journal.