F5, Apple, EMC Post Positive Quarterly Earnings

Three technology stalwarts reported strong quarterly earnings, furthering the notion that the tech sector is healthy despite a still-anemic economy. Apple Computer, EMC and F5 Networks – all of which represent a separate corner of IT – each posted double-digit revenues and earnings, thanks in part to end users opening their wallets and investing in new technologies.

In its second quarter, Apple posted record-breaking Q2 revenue of $24.67 billion, up 83 percent from the corresponding quarter last year. Apple’s Q2 net profit came in at $5.99 billion, a whopping 95 percent profit growth year-over-year. Interestingly, international sales accounted for 59 percent of Apple’s Q2 revenue. The company easily blew away Wall Street expectations, with Apple’s stock rising 3.6 percent to $354 following its earnings announcement — movement Barrons.com calls “John D. Rockefeller stuff.”

EMC, meanwhile, broke its own records as well, with Q1 revenues at $4.6 billion, an 18 percent increase year-over-year. EMC also reported a Q1 net income of $477.1 million, an increase of 28 percent. Wall Street is looking favorably at the company’s earnings, with many attributing the growth of cloud-based storage technology as one of the key catalysts for the boost. EMC stock rose about 1 percent after its earnings announcement.

F5 Networks, for its part, bounced back from a less-than-stellar Q1 earnings report in January to report second-quarter profits of $55.6 million, up from $33.1 million a year earlier. Revenue increased 35 percent to $277.6 million, exceeding Wall Street projections. The Americas and APAC contributed heavily to F5’s success in its second quarter, noted F5’s President and CEO John McAdam. F5’s stock rose 12.7 percent following the announcement.

Additional reporting by Dave Courbanou.

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