Apple reported a record December quarter — the company’s fiscal first quarter — with revenues of $91.8 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $4.99, both all-time records. The company credited iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, as well as Wearables and Services for the company’s results.
Revenues were up year-over-year from $84.3 billion, and Wall Street consensus was just $88.48 billion, meaning Apple beat those expectations. The company reported revenue from Wearables at $10 billion, with Wall Street expecting $9.85 billion. Services were $12.72 billion, and though up year-over-year, Services lagged behind Wall Street expectations of $13.06 billion. Apple reported iPhone revenues of $55.96 billion, which was way ahead of Wall Street expectations of $51.2 billion.
Shares of AAPL rose in the regular session to $317.69 per share, up $8.74 (+2.83%), on strong volume of 35.3 million shares trading hands. Shares rose even higher in the after hours market, with shares of Apple rising to $324.67, up $6.98 (+2.20%).
“We are thrilled to report Apple’s highest quarterly revenue ever, fueled by strong demand for our iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models, and all-time records for Services and Wearables,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. “During the holiday quarter our active installed base of devices grew in each of our geographic segments and has now reached over 1.5 billion. We see this as a powerful testament to the satisfaction, engagement and loyalty of our customers — and a great driver of our growth across the board.”
Apple CFO Luca Maestri added, “Our very strong business performance drove an all-time net income record of $22.2 billion and generated operating cash flow of $30.5 billion. We also returned nearly $25 billion to shareholders during the quarter, including $20 billion in share repurchases and $3.5 billion in dividends and equivalents, as we maintain our target of reaching a net cash neutral position over time.”
Apple provided guidance for the March quarter of revenues between $63 and $67 billion, with gross margins between 38 and 39 percent. The company expects operating expenses (opex in finance parlance) between $9.6 and $9.7 billlion, with other income of $250 million and a tax rate of 16.5 percent.
[Update: this article was updated with additional info on category revenues, guidance, and Wall Street consensus expectations. – Editor]
iPad and Mac shrinking isn’t good though. Although the PC market is expanding, Apple’s market share (in terms of revenue as well as units) seems to be contracting.
Although it’s a nice technology demonstration and great for a high-end segment of the professional market, the Mac Pro doesn’t seem to be having any effect on Apple’s bottom line as yet. iPadOS seems like a step in the right direction for the iPad, and sale pricing down to $249 makes it one of the most affordable Apple computing devices ever, so it’s a bit puzzling that the iPad isn’t gaining some momentum.
Well, I for one am pleased and am looking forward to my next dividend.
Diversification is important due to the cycle of tech booms and busts, and the market has a bad history of punishing AAPL on a whim (potentially leading to some buying opportunities), but it’s nice to see consistent dividends, and it’s nice to see Apple’s outstanding performance actually reflected in the stock price.
I wonder what happened to all of the Apple Watch naysayers now that it’s bigger than the iPod ever was? 😉
On the Apple Watch. I was one of the holdouts because I have acquired 4 Rolexes over my lifetime that I REALLY liked. My wife had an AW and really liked it. When Chase started allowing “points” to be used for Apple purchases, I bought one. I can’t imagine doing without its incredible functionality now.
All one has to do is try one for a week. Apple should have a “try before buy” program. (I guess they do, given their generous return policy…)