Apple Q3 earnings are in: iPhone solid, iPad, not so much

Apple's revenues for Q3 2014 are in and the Cupertino tech-giant has brought in some decent numbers. The company has reported $37.4 billion in revenue; very close to the optimistic forecast of $38 billion. The nt profit Apple was able to make in Q3 amounts to $7.7 billion.

The iPhone brought in some solid sales: 35.2 million units; a bit shy of the predicted 36 million smartphones the company was expected to move. The iPad was a different story, however, as only 13.3 million slates were sold, as opposed to 14.6 million iPads in Q3 2013.

There is an area in which Apple surpassed forecasts, and that's in gross margins, where the tech giant was able to reach 39.4%, which is a marked increase from 2013's 36.9%. This means that Apple was able to attain a 20% increase in earnings per share.

Now that the Q3 numbers are in, there's, of course, already talk about the numbers Apple will be pulling in for the next quarter. It's predicted that the company will bring in anywhere from $37 to $40 billion in revenue, with gross margins at 37-38%.

So what can Apple learn from the diminishing sales of the iPad? Well, it may be that users just don't need to refresh their iPad every single year, and that Apple may consider holding off refreshing its tablet line. Price could also be an issue as well, as the iPad is still more expensive than most options that are currently available on the market. It also doesn't help that Android players, like Samsung, are doing everything they can to put their tablets in the hands of consumers, either.

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