In the third quarter report, Apple earned $1.23 billion. Compared to the third quarter of 2008, Apple earned about $400 million more this year. Sales were also up — from $7.46 billion at this time last year to $8.34 billion. The fact that sales rose more than $850 million easily beat expectations.

Steve Jobs, who recently returned to the company after a medical leave of absence, pointed to the iPhone and the App Store as reasons why Apple saw impressive jumps in both earnings and sales.

Said Jobs: “We’re making our most innovative products ever and our customers are responding. We’re thrilled to have sold over 5.2 million iPhones during the quarter and users have downloaded more than 1.5 billion applications from our App Store in its first year.”

Steve Jobs Returns to Apple (Image: Flickr)

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Jobs, who revealed in 2004 that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, has had his health in the headlines ever since. Considering that he’s viewed as one of the most important CEOs in the world, there’s no doubt that the media will be asking for more confirmation and more information.

Apple shareholders have been known to sell off Apple shares if Jobs’ health is rumored to be declining. With that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see what happens to Apple stock on Monday.

In January, Apple announced that Jobs would miss the first six months of 2009 to concentrate on his health. In the interim, Tim Cook was elevated and has been calling the shots.

How Healthy is Steve Jobs? (Image: Flickr)

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