Apple Q4 Breaks Record

APPLE POLISHING: Apple turned in Q4 fiscal year revenue of $20 billion and profits of $4.31 billion, a 70% boost over last year, and a record for a single company, leading Steve Jobs to say he was “blown away” by the results. Apple revealed that iPhone sales nearly doubled year-over-year, to 14.1 million over the latest three-month stretch. That, according to Jobs, beats a recent Blackberry tally of 12.1 million, though the Android number could be the stronger mark to follow. iPad sales amounted to a strong 4.9 million units, while the Mac shifted 3.9 million units, up 27%. The iPod was the only down note, slipping 11% to 9.05 million, also year-over-year. Gross margin was 36.9% compared to 41.8% in the year-ago quarter. In trading on Wall Street this morning, Apple stock was down 2.5% to 310.09, largely because of that reduced margin. (10/19a)