The pessimists’ prediction will not be fulfilled after all for Apple. Steve Jobs told the media that the fourth-quarter earnings didn’t quite hit the target, but with iPhone and Mac sales strong, the founder of the company is sure that Apple can ride out a downturn. Apple reported $7.9 billion in sales, below the estimate of analysts, which had come in at $8.05 billion. As for the fiscal quarter, which includes all-important holiday selling season, Apple forecast sales of $9 billion to $10 billion, more than $500 million less than analysts were expecting. Although Apple’s fourth-quarter sales fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, its profit topped them, climbing to $1.14 billion.

The company praised the iPhone’s success. Apple introduced the smart-phone market in June 2007 and sold 6.1 million products. In the last quarter, it sold nearly 7 million new iPhone 3G handsets. Steve jobs also mentioned that the iPhone has beaten its rival from RIM, the BlackBerry. As for the Macintosh computers, Apple sold 2.6 million, a 21% increase. The iPods also brought a raise of 8%, selling 11 million.

Steve Jobs’ participation in the earnings call was rare, and that’s because he usually lets other Apple executives discuss the company’s financial performances. Analysts think his appearance was meant to cast aside any speculation about his health and to show confidence that Apple is in a good situation. The company’s other representatives said that they ended the year with $25 billion in cash and no debt, but they warned the next sales will be slower than the recent ones.