Apple 4Q net income soars 70 percent; iPad falls short

SEATTLE (AP) — Apple Inc. said today that net income for the most recent quarter soared 70 percent on strong sales of iPhones, though iPad sales fell short of expectations.

Shares fell in after-hours trading. Apple's stock had been breaking through record-high prices for more than a week on high hopes for the iPad.

Apple sold 4.2 million of its new tablet-style computer during the fiscal fourth quarter, fewer than the approximately 5 million that analysts, on average, had expected.

The company sold 14.1 million iPhones from July through September, more than the 12 million or so analysts were looking for. Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer, said in an interview that had the company been able to make more iPhones, that number would have been even higher.

Sales of the iPad might have been constrained by supply issues. Oppenheimer said the company was able to increase production of the iPad toward the end of the quarter.