No More iTunes Love From Costco (COST, AAPL)

These days, it seems that Apple Inc. AAPL products are everywhere. With Target Corporation TGT and others increasing their Apple product lineup (Target recently added the iPad to its many stores across the nation), it's almost unfathomable to think that we could one day enter a retailer that wasn't selling at least one Apple item. That is, unless you shop at Costco Wholesale Corporation COST. Costco has announced that Apple products are being phased out of its stores, The Seattle Times reports. While Costco has been selling iPods and pre-loaded iTunes cards for years, neither item was offered at a huge discount. To make matters more difficult for the retailer, Apple did not allow Costco to sell its products online. Thus, the two companies agreed to wind things down. On a more positive note, Costco has reported a strong quarter, with a 17% boost in profits to $312 million, or 71 cents a share, for the first fiscal quarter that ended November 21. The Seattle Times reports that Costco grew 11% to $19.2 billion, and customers were visiting more frequently than ever, although not always for big-ticket items.