Apple posted record top-line results for the September quarter despite a 21 per cent fall in iPhone sales as people working from home during the pandemic increased the demand for Macs and iPads.
The technology group reported $64.7bn of revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter ending in September, compared with expectations of $64bn.
Revenue from iPhone sales last quarter amounted to $26.4bn, versus $33.4bn a year ago, as a result of the delayed launch of the iPhone 12. Usually Apple’s latest smartphone begins selling in the final two weeks of the September quarter, but this year two of the four models are still not available for sale.
“We expect iPhone revenue to grow during the December quarter, despite shipping the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro four weeks into the quarter, and iPhone 12 Mini and 12 Pro Max seven weeks into the quarter,” chief financial officer Luca Maestri told analysts.
Apple’s shares fell 5 per cent in after-hours trading, reflecting disappointment that the company did not offer a projection for the holiday quarter — its most important period.
Mr Maestri told the Financial Times the impact of Covid-19 made it too difficult to be specific but he was confident Apple would grow holiday quarter revenue from the record $91.8bn a year ago.
“There’s lots of uncertainty in the short-term about rising cases in Europe, very high level of cases in the United States,” he said. But “we are very confident . . . we will be growing revenue during the December quarter”.
Thanks in part to so many people working from home, sales of Mac computers grew 29 per cent to $9bn and sales of iPad tablets rose 46 per cent to $6.8bn.
“The September quarter was an all-time high for Mac in the history of the company. And not by a little bit — by $1.6bn,” Tim Cook, chief executive, told analysts.
He argued that Mac and iPad sales are likely to be more important for the company as the impact of Covid lingers, compelling consumers to upgrade. “The remote work thing is not something that’s going to snap back to how it used to be anytime soon.”
Wearables, a category that includes headphones and smart watches, grew 21 per cent to $7.9bn. Services, an ever-increasing array of entertainment, warranty and App Store offerings, grew 16 per cent to a record $14.5bn.
“Outside of iPhone, the company grew 25 per cent year over year,” Mr Maestri told the FT. “If you think about the macro environment we’re in and the sheer size of our company, it’s just spectacular.”
For Apple to beat expectations in spite of the delayed iPhone launch “clearly underlines the breadth and diverse product offering”, said Paolo Pescatore, analyst at PP Foresight.
The report contained two big disappointments. Net income fell 7.4 per cent to $12.7bn and revenues in greater China fell 28.6 per cent to $7.9bn.
Mr Maestri said both were a result of the delayed launch of the iPhone 12. “We had new iPhones in China a year ago, this year we didn’t,” he said. “We’ll be growing in China in the December quarter.”
Analysts are expecting a record quarter in December thanks to the four iPhone 12 units introduced this month by Mr Cook, who said they signalled a “new era”.
“Despite the ongoing impacts of Covid-19, Apple is in the midst of our most prolific product introduction period ever,” Mr Cook said in a statement on Thursday. “The early response to all our new products, led by our first 5G-enabled iPhone line-up, has been tremendously positive.”
For the full fiscal year, Apple revenues grew 6 per cent to $274.5bn and earnings per share grew 10 per cent to $3.31. Mr Maestri said the full-year results included new records for revenue, earnings per share and free cash flow.
Critics can point out that Apple revenues are up only 17 per cent over a five-year period — a startling juxtaposition to its market value quadrupling over the same period. However, the company is now less dependent on the iPhone, and subject to fewer cyclical swings, thanks to its growing emphasis on hardware and services.
Last quarter iPhone sales accounted for 41 per cent of total revenue, versus 52 per cent a year earlier.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiP2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZ0LmNvbS9jb250ZW50LzA4YzFiMTY3LWM3ZTMtNDg0Yy05ODAxLTU0ZmRkOWM1MzdlN9IBAA?oc=5
2020-10-29 23:02:00Z
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