Late iPhone Launch Hampers Apple's Earnings

In its fiscal fourth quarter, ended September 26, Apple posted revenue of $64.7 billion and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $0.73. Profit fell 7 percent to $12.6 billion. International sales accounted for 59 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

“Apple capped off a fiscal year defined by innovation in the face of adversity with a September quarter record, led by all-time records for Mac and Services,“ said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Despite the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, Apple is in the midst of our most prolific product introduction period ever, and the early response to all our new products, led by our first 5G-enabled iPhone lineup, has been tremendously positive.“

“Our outstanding September quarter performance concludes a remarkable fiscal year, where we established new all-time records for revenue, earnings per share, and free cash flow, in spite of an extremely volatile and challenging macro environment,“ said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “Our sales results and the unmatched loyalty of our customers drove our active installed base of devices to an all-time high in all of our major product categories. We also returned nearly $22 billion to shareholders during the quarter, as we maintain our target of reaching a net cash neutral position over time.“

Sales of iPhone were the only sector of Apple’s business to decline, 20.7 percent lower at $26.4 billion. Mac revenue increased 29.1 percent to $9.0 billion, iPad was up 45.9 percent to $6.7 billion, while services rose 16.2 percent to $14.5 billion. Wearables, Home and Accessories were up 20.7 percent at $7.87 billion.