Today, Apple has officially announced its Q4 2016 earnings report ahead of its critical holiday season. The company reports a revenue of $46.9 billion and earnings of $1.67 per share. Apple has also shipped 45.5 million iPhones, 9.3 million iPads and 4.9 million Macs. By way of contrast, Apple during the year-ago quarter posted revenue of $51.5 billion and a quarterly profit of $11.1 billion, while it sold 48 million iPhones, 9.8 million iPads, and 5.7 million Macs. Meanwhile, Apple’s earning per share (EPS) during its fiscal fourth quarter last year checked in at $1.96.
Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke fondly of the company’s “strong” results, noting that the company is “thrilled” with the customer response to iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and Apple Watch Series 2. Additionally, Cook noted that Apple’s Services sector grew 25 percent to set another record:
“Our strong September quarter results cap a very successful fiscal 2016 for Apple”, said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re thrilled with the customer response to iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2, as well as the incredible momentum of our Services business, where revenue grew 24 percent to set another all-time record”. “Our strong September quarter results cap a very successful fiscal 2016 for Apple”, said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re thrilled with the customer response to iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2, as well as the incredible momentum of our Services business, where revenue grew 24 percent to set another all-time record”.
Additionally, Apple’s massive pile of cash grew $6.1 billion in Q4 2016, putting it at $237.6 billion, a record for the company. Going into the fourth quarter, Apple has one huge advantage it was not expecting: The Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 was one of the few phones that could place a significant dent on the iPhone 7 Plus sales. However, a series of investigations showed that the Note 7 was prone to exploding, and forced Samsung to withdraw Note 7 from market.
Q4 marks our first look at the iPhone 7’s early effect on Apple numbers, though it is worth noting that the iPhone 7 came out just a week before Apple’s Q4 ended, so the device likely didn’t have a huge impact on numbers this quarter. The holiday quarter, however, will be a different story.
As usual, Apple is not breaking out Apple Watch sales for “competitive” reasons, but various other reports have offered a look at the sales of Apple’s wearable. Apple is giving the following guidance for its fiscal 2017 first quarter:
- Revenue between $76 billion and $78 billion
- Gross margin between 38 percent and 38.5 percent
- Operating expenses between $6.9 billion and $7 billion
- Other income/(expense) of $400 million
- Tax rate of 26 percent
Looking ahead to Apple’s holiday quarter, the company is expecting revenue to fall in the range $76 billion and $78 billion. After the announcement, shares of Apple were up significantly.
