Apple Predicts $45 Million Profit for Q1 '98

Apple Computer (Cupertino, CA) surprised analysts and MacWorld

attendees yesterday by announcing that it will realize a Q1 '98 profit of nearly $45 million on $1.575 billion in revenue. Analysts had predicted that Apple would take a $10 million loss. Apple stock rose nearly 20% on Tuesday after the announcement from interim CEO Steve Jobs. Contributing to the gain was strong sales of its new Power MacIntosh G3 computers, which with 133,000 units sold became Apple's most successful product launch. During the quarter Apple also signed a new partnership with CompUSA (Dallas), recently named the nation's top computer reseller. Apple's online store also exceeded expectations by moving $12 million of merchandise in 24 hours. "We are thrilled that our new plans are beginning to work," said Jobs. "While there is still lots of work to do, Apple is clearly coming back as a major player." Apple will announce final results on January 14, 1998.