Edible Apple

– 8.75 million in iPhone sales, eclipsing previous record which was during last years holiday quarter

– iPhone now sold on 151 carriers across 81 countries

– 1.68 billion compared to 1.38 billion, 22 percent increase apple retail stores

– Half of Macs sold at Apple Stores were to customers who never owned a Mac before

– Apple now has 286 Apple Stores worldwide, and during the March quarter, they opened up two new stores in the UK and Germany

– Average revenue per Apple Retail Store was $5.9 billion, up from $5.1 Billion from same quarter last year

– Apple Retail Stores welcomed 47 million visitors during the March quarter, a 20% increase from 39.1 million visitors during the same quarter a year ago

– In 2010, Apple plans on opening up 40-50 new Apple Stores, with half of them planned to open in international locations, including London and Shanghai

– Apple’s cash on hand at the end of March came in at $41.7 Billion, a $1.9 billion increase since the end of December.

Now time for the Q&A with Apple COO Tim Cook and Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer

Question about why iPhone sales were so high.

Tim Cook says that iPhone sales year over year in the Asia Pacific area were up 474% year of year. In Japan and Europe, iPhone sales were up 183% and 133% respectively year over year. Cook said high iPhone sales were also the result of adding 8 carriers in key countries, like Vodafone in the UK. Cook said Apple was also pleased with the strong performance from their existing carriers.

Regarding China, Cook said revenue from China during the first half of the 2010 fiscal year was almost $1.3 billion, which is a 200% increase year over year

Question about iAds:

“We’re putting our toes in the water, so don’t expect much from us during this calendar year.” Looking to build a foundation for the future with iAds.

Question about AT&T’s network:

Cook answers, “They continue to work very very hard and we look forward to continued improvement.”

Okay, then.

Question about accounting treatment for iPad:

Cook: “We’ll discuss that on our July conference call when we report June quarter results which will include first shipments of the iPad.”

Question about Apple Stores in China:

Cook says that Apple plans to open 2 stores in Shanghai this year, and hopes to have 25 stores in all of China by the end of 2011

Question about legal expenses relative to operating expenses:

Oppenheimer says Apple factors their legal expenses into their forward looking guidance.

Question about Apple TV:

Cook: “The units were up for the quarter 34% year to year, but absolute units are still small and we still classify the device as a hobby for the company.”

Question regarding iPad cannibalizing iPod Touch and Mac sales:

Cook answers, “Although we announced the iPad in January, there’s nothing obvious in iPod numbers or Mac numbers to suggest cannibalization.” But iPad sales aren’t factored into this quarter, so Cook notes Apple will have a better grasp of potential cannibalization next quarter.

Cook says he’s already addicted to his iPad. Says he can’t comment on cannibalization of netbooks because Cook says they’re not even close, 100 to zero. “Netbooks do nothing well, the iPad does many things very well.”

Question asking if Apple has influence over carriers to lower cost of monthly iPhone ownership for users:

Tim Cook takes this one. “We do everything we can to try to get best deal possible for the consumer, and by the way, I feel like each of the carrier partners we work with try and do the same. When we dropped the subsidized price to $99 last year, we were actually surprised that the mix to the 3GS was very very high, and you know, that one starts at $199. I think price is important to the device, but there are other things people really want… apps, ecosystem, great OS, incredible hardware, that it’s just one of the factors.”

Question regarding app performance on the iPad, and if is ASP is any different:

Tim Cook: “It’s very early… customers are loving the iPad, they are going to the app store, getting books, so it’s been just a great thing for customers, but we’ll talk more in the future about how that goes. I would say that we are not focused on making a lot of money on the app store, since we haven’t on the iTunes Store. We run the iTunes Store just a bit over break even, and try to offer a great value for customers.

Question regarding Apple’s upcoming product pipeline:

Cook answers, “We’re not going to help our competitors, but let me reiterate, we are very confident about our new product pipeline, and are very excited about the upcoming months.”

And that’s a wrap folks!