On Monday after the market closed, Apple announced their fourth quarter results and they were spectacular, beating even the most optimistic of the analyst’s predictions. Apple posted a $8.5 billion profit on sales of $42.1 billion or about $1.42 per share. For the full fiscal year, Apple generated $182.8 billion in sales which is record annual income and a profit of $38.5 billion.
While Apple’s revenue and profit was primarily driven by iPhone sales, with a record of over 39 million iPhone sold during the quarter, Mac sales were also a surprising high point for the quarter. Apple sold a record 5.5 million Macs during the quarter even though there was no major product changes. Back in 2011, with new product introductions, Apple sold 4.9 million Macs so this was a significant increase. This represents a 46 percent increase in Mac sales for the quarter and propelled Apple marketshare to the highest point since 1995.
These results only included about a week of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales and Tim Cook said that they are selling every iPhone they can make with demand far outstripping supply for these new iPhones. Tim said that when it comes to supply and demand for the new iPhones “we’re not even on the same planet”.
Despite returning $17 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends during the quarter, Apple ended the quarter with $155.2 billion in cash and acquired 20 companies during this period.
While Apple saw declining iPad sales, new models were introduced last week and begin shipping this week. Apple’s partnership with IBM to develop new iOS-based mobile solutions will begin rolling out in November with a concentration on banking, government, insurance, retail, travel, and telecommunications. While it is difficult to quantify this partnership, it is clear that it is a significant advantage in the marketplace.
Apple’s iTunes business was up 22 percent year-over-year and generated $5.4 billion in revenue, which a pretty strong business on its own. Apple will begin to report their results a bit differently going forward. iPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch and Beats will be included in “Other Products”. Retail sales will be included in “Regional Sales” and Apple Pay, iTunes, software, and other services will be lumped together in “Services”.
Looking forward, Apple gave very strong guidance for the holiday quarter, predicting sales of between $63.5 and $66.5 billion and declared a dividend for shareholders of $0.47 per share.
The hottest brand on the planet is continuing to crank out the best products on the planet and the sales are the proof. Tim Cook wrapped it up by saying:
With amazing innovations in our new iPhones, iPads and Macs, as well as iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, we are heading into the holidays with Apple’s strongest product lineup ever. We are also incredibly excited about Apple Watch and other great products and services in the pipeline for 2015.