Apple Q4 2020 reports $64.7 billion revenue

Apple has announced its quarterly financial results, with record Mac and Services revenue and a big drop in iPhone sales.

Apple reported $64.7 billion in revenue during the quarter, up 1% from the same period last year, and $1 billion ahead of the revenue analysts had expected. Apple posted earnings of $0.73 per share, compared to analysts’ projected EPS of $0.70.

iPhone revenue was $26.8B, down 20% year over year. Mac revenue was $9B, up 29%. iPad revenue was $6.8B, up 46%. Services revenue was $14.5B, up 16%. And Wearables revenue was $7.9B, up 20.8%.

The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro were not available until October 16, well after the end of Apple’s fourth fiscal quarter. Furthermore, the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max won’t be available until November 6. This means the entire iPhone 12 launch season will be factored into Apple’s fiscal Q1 2021 earnings release in January.

“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. From remote learning to the home office, Apple products have been a window to the world for users as the pandemic continues, and our teams have met the needs of this moment with creativity, passion, and the kinds of big ideas that only Apple can deliver.”

Geographically, Apple’s net sales grew year-over-year from $29.322 billion to $30.698 billion in the Americas, $14.946 billion to $16.9 billion in Europe, $4.982 billion to $5.023 billion in Japan, and $3.656 billion to $4.131 billion in the Asia Pacific region.

But they fell sharply in Greater China from $11.134 billion to $7.946 billion, again likely reflecting the delayed arrival of new iPhones in one of their most popular international territories. International sales constituted 59% of the quarter’s revenue, down only slightly from 60% a year earlier.

“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.”

While Apple didn’t provide official guidance for the quarter, Maestri did say during the conference call that they expect a very positive Fiscal Q1 2021 (Q4 calendar) due to the new iPhones and other products yet to be announced.

Apple’s Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.205 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on November 12, 2020 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 9, 2020