Actually, I do know.
This list has all global quarterly earnings of all time, limited to earnings of more than $10 Billion in real value (June 2011).
Largest corporate quarterly earnings of all time
# | Company | Industry | Country | Year | Fiscal Quarter | Report Date | Earnings (Billion) | USD Inflation to June 2011 | USD Real Earnings (Billion) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Fannie Mae | Government-sponsored enterprise Public company |
United States | 2013 | 1Q | 9 May 2013 | $58.7 | 0% | $58.7 |
2 | Apple | Consumer electronics | United States | 2015 | 1Q | 27 January 2015 | $18.04 | 0% | $18.04 |
3 | Gazprom | Oil and gas | Russia | 2011 | 1Q | 30 August 2011 | $16.24 | $16.24 | |
4 | Royal Dutch Shel | Oil and gas | Netherlands UK | 2008 | 2Q | 30 June 2008 | $15.68 | 3.16% | $16.18 |
5 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2008 | 3Q | 30 September 2008 | $14.8 | 3.17% | $15.27 |
6 | Apple | Consumer electronics | United States | 2014 | 1Q | 27 January 2014 | $13.10 | 0% | $13.10 |
7 | Apple | Consumer electronics | United States | 2013 | 1Q | 23 January 2013 | $13.08 | 0% | $13.08 |
8 | Apple | Consumer electronics | United States | 2012 | 1Q | 24 January 2012 | $13.06 | 0% | $13.06 |
9 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2007 | 4Q | 31 December 2007 | $11.66 | 7.47% | $12.53 |
10 | Apple | Consumer electronics | United States | 2012 | 2Q | 24 April 2012 | $11.6 | 0% | $11.6 |
11 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2005 | 4Q | 31 December 2005 | $10.71 | 14.7% | $12.28 |
12 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2008 | 2Q | 30 June 2008 | $11.68 | 3.16% | $12.05 |
13 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2006 | 3Q | 30 September 2006 | $10.49 | 11.25% | $11.67 |
14 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2006 | 2Q | 30 June 2006 | $10.36 | 11.25% | $11.53 |
15 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2008 | 1Q | 31 March 2008 | $10.89 | 5.71% | $11.51 |
16 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2006 | 4Q | 31 December 2006 | $10.25 | 11.85% | $11.46 |
17 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2005 | 3Q | 30 September 2005 | $9.92 | 13.54% | $11.26 |
18 | Royal Dutch Shel | Oil and gas | Netherlands UK | 2008 | 3Q | 30 September 2008 | $10.90 | 3.17% | $11.25 |
19 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2007 | 2Q | 30 June 2007 | $10.26 | 8.34% | $11.12 |
20 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2011 | 1Q | 31 March 2011 | $10.69 | 1.01% | $10.8 |
21 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2011 | 2Q | 30 June 2011 | $10.68 | 0% | $10.68 |
22 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2011 | 3Q | 30 September 2011 | $10.33 | 0% | $10.33 |
23 | BP | Oil and gas | United Kingdom | 2008 | 3Q | 30 September 2008 | $10.0 | 3.17% | $10.32 |
24 | Apple | Consumer electronics | United States | 2014 | 2Q | 23 April 2014 | $10.2 | 0% | $10.2 |
25 | ExxonMobil | Oil and gas | United States | 2007 | 3Q | 30 September 2007 | $9.41 | 8.27% | $10.19 |
Out of a list of 25 best quarters in history, Apple occupies six of the slots, positions 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 24. All of those quarters have been in the last three years, four of them in the last two, three of them in the last year.
The Number one position is occupied by the quasi-government entity FNMA, which is only there because of an artificial political move by the Obama regime. . . the governmental bailouts to save it from bankruptcy.
Fannie Mae had a whopping big quarters and year in 2013 because the US Government bailed FNMA out because of HUGE LOSSES of $59.8 Billion in 2008, $74.4 Billion in 2009, and even more losses in 2010. . . and they booked those huge multi-Billion dollar bailouts from tax payer funds as income recovery in 2012 and 2013. Without those non-real-revenue funds, FNMA would have still been in the red on 2013 as they paid out funds on foreclosed property loans.
There are two other larger organizations that are not listed, but both are government owned banks in China which mandate that all businesses in the country do business with them and mandate their levels of profit. . . they do not qualify for inclusion. . . and really Fannie Mae being a quasi-government body with over 3 Trillion in assets should not either.
So Apple is actually not at the top of the list.