Apple most profitable company despite Wall Street brush off

(Credit: Statista)

Apple's most recent quarter failed to please analysts and investors, yet the results made it the most profitable company in the United States.

For the December quarter, Apple reported earnings of $13.1 billion on sales of $54.5 billion. The quarter marked one of Apple's biggest profits and hit a record for overall revenue and sales of iOS devices.

However, analysts were expecting more. And so, Apple's shares tanked as the company found itself in the Wall Street doghouse.

But the $13.1 billion profit actually made Apple top dog. A chart compiled by statistics site Statista found that Apple's December quarter earnings surpassed those of all other U.S. companies.

In second place for the quarter was ExxonMobil with $10 billion in earnings, followed by Chevron with $7.2 billion. The spots held by those two runner-ups are ironic since Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly told employees recently that "the only companies that report better quarters pump oil."

In fact, only ExxonMobil and Russian energy company Gazprom have reported higher profits than Apple in the... [Read more]





by Lance Whitney via CNET