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An Apple store in Bangkok.
Mladen Antonov / AFP via Getty Images
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delivered better-than-expected results for the first fiscal quarter, as customers snapped up iPhones, Macs, iPads and other Apple products at an impressive pace. The sales exceed Wall Street expectations in every category.
Wall Street analysts’ expectations were particularly driven in the quarter by the possibility of a blowout quarter for iPhone sales, following the recent launch of the iPhone 12 series. And Apple (ticker: AAPL) delivered.
During a phone call with analysts, CEO Tim Cook said the company had 1.65 billion total installed devices worldwide in the quarter, with the iPhone installed base exceeding 1 billion. He also said the company has record revenue in all geographic areas.
Overall, Apple had revenue of $ 111.4 billion, up 21% from the previous quarter and earnings of $ 1.68 per share. That was more than $ 102.8 billion and $ 1.40 per share.
Apple posted $ 65.6m revenue in the quarter. billion, a 17% increase from a year ago, well above the $ 59.6 billion Street Consensus, followed by FactSet.
The three months ended December 31 were also strong for laptops and desktops. For iPads, sales were $ 8.4 billion, up 41%, and down the street at $ 7.4 billion. For Macs, which received a boost from both the arrival of the first models powered by Apple’s homemade M1 processor and the continuing increase in demand caused by the stay-at-home trend, sales were $ 8.7 billion, an increase of 21% and slightly above the street’s forecast of $ 8.6 billion.
Portable sales were also strong, growing by 30% to $ 13 billion, down the street at $ 11.5 billion. And service revenue rose 24% to $ 15.7 billion, ahead of the Street Consensus to $ 15.2 billion.
Sales increased by 12% in the US, 17% in Europe and 57% in Greater China, with 33% in Japan and 11.5% in the rest of Asia.
“Our operating performance in December during the quarter was driven by double-digit growth in each product category, which set all-time revenue records in our geographic segments, and an all-time high for our installed base of active devices, “said CFO Luca Maestri. in a statement. ‘These results have helped us generate a record operating cash flow of $ 38.8 billion. We also returned more than $ 30 billion to shareholders during the quarter, as we maintain our goal of achieving a net cash-neutral position over time. ”
The company said it repurchased $ 24.8 billion worth of shares in the quarter.
Apple did not provide financial predictions in the release. Street’s consensus expectation for the seasonally softer March quarter was $ 74 billion in revenue and 90 cents-per-share earnings.
Maestri said due to the continuing uncertainty due to the pandemic, the company is again not giving details on the outlook for revenue and profits. However, the company said it expects revenue growth to accelerate year-on-year. He said the company expects some slowdown in service growth due to a difficult comparison with the previous year, and that it also expects slower growth in laptops.
The gross margin in the most recent quarter was 39.8%, compared to 38.4% a year earlier. The result in the current quarter is expected to be in line with the recent figure.
After an 82% pull in 2020, the stock added another 7% this year. The stock remains the largest company in the world by market capitalization, with a valuation of just under $ 2.4 billion.
The company ended the quarter with $ 196 billion in cash and bonds, offset by $ 112 billion in total debt, for a net cash of $ 84 billion, the chief financial officer said.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at [email protected]