Once upon a time, prostitution, gambling, and booze were considered the best-in-brand in recession-proof industries. But these tried-and-true warhorses are going to have make room for a newcomer shoving its way way to the head of the list: anything made by Apple.
The New York Times' Brad Stone reports that Apple announced boffo earnings for the just-concluded third quarter: Net income was up to $1.67 billion, a 47 percent increase over the comparable quarter last year. The company sold more computers -- 3.05 million -- and more iPhones -- 7.4 million -- than in any quarter previously. And you can hardly sneeze at an additional 10.2 million more iPods, to boot.
Will Apple's fortunes be able to resist the oncoming onslaught of Windows 7, proclaimed across the land to be Microsoft's best effort ever at copying what Apple does best? We'll have to wait and see for the answer to that one. But in a week in which investors are anticipating good news on the corporate earnings front, Apple's numbers are likely to make everyone happy -- even people who don't own a Mac.
Shares