Apple posts record growth. New products shining
Apple reports record financial results for the December quarter, setting an all-time revenue record of $123.9 billion, an 11% increase from a year ago.
“We reached new all-time records in the Americas, Europe, Greater China and the rest of Asia Pacific. And it was also an all-time record quarter for both products and services.
On the product side, revenue was $104.4 billion, up 9% over a year ago, despite significant supply constraints. We grew in each of our product categories, except iPad, where supply constraints were particularly pronounced, and set all-time records for iPhone, Mac and Wearables, Home and Accessories,” says Luca Maestri is Apple’s senior vice president and chief financial officer reporting to CEO Tim Cook.
The strong level of sales performance, the unmatched loyalty of customers and the strength of the ecosystem have driven the current installed base of active devices to a new all-time record of 1.8 billion devices.
The growth in the installed base was broad-based as we set all-time records in each major product category and in each geographic segment.
“Our Services set an all-time revenue record of $19.5 billion, up 24% over a year ago, with December quarter records in every geographic segment. Company gross margin was 43.8%, up 160 basis points from last quarter due to volume leverage and favourable mix, partially offset by higher cost structures. Products gross margin was 38.4%, up 410 basis points sequentially, driven by leverage and mix. Services gross margin was 72.4%, up 190 basis points sequentially, mainly due to a different mix,” he says.
Cash flow record
Net income of $34.6 billion and diluted earnings per share of $2.10 both grew more than 20% year-over-year and were all-time records. Operating cash flow of $47 billion was also an all-time record.
In the revenue categories, iPhone revenue grew 9% year-over-year to an all-time record of $71.6 billion despite supply constraints. This is thanks to the remarkable customer response to our new iPhone 13 family.
“We set all-time records in both developed and emerging markets, reached an all-time high in the iPhone active installed base and the latest survey of U.S. consumers from 451 Research indicates iPhone customer satisfaction of 98%.”
For Mac, revenue of $10.9 billion was an all-time record with growth of 25% year-over-year driven by strong demand for our newly redesigned MacBook Pro powered by M1 despite supply constraints.
“We are 1 year into our transition to Apple silicon and already, the vast majority of our Mac sales are from M1-powered devices, which helped drive a record number of upgraders during the December quarter. Our momentum in this category is very impressive as the last 6 quarters have been the best 6 quarters ever for Mac,’ he says.
iPad made it!
iPad generated $7.2 billion in revenue, down 14% year-over-year due to very significant supply constraints, but customer demand was very strong across all models.
Despite the supply shortages, the installed base of iPads reached a new all-time high during the quarter, thanks to a high number of customers that are new to iPad. In fact, around half of the customers purchasing an iPad during the quarter were new to the product.
Wearables, Home and Accessories set a new all-time record of $14.7 billion, up 13% year-over-year. “And we set all-time revenue records in each geographic segment. We also continue to improve and expand our product offerings in this category to create unique experiences showcasing our deep integration of hardware, software and services.”
In addition to an outstanding level of sales performance globally, Apple Watch continues to extend its reach, with over 2/3 of customers purchasing an Apple Watch during the quarter being new to the product.
“Turning to services. we reached an all-time revenue record of $19.5 billion, up 24%, with all-time records for cloud services, music, video, advertising and payment services and a December quarter record for the App Store. These impressive results reflect the positive momentum we are seeing on many fronts,” he says.