Apple said sales for its fiscal fourth quarter to 25 September advanced 29 percent from the year before, slower than in the previous quarter, but still hit a record USD 83.4 billion. The operating profit meanwhile lifted to USD 23.78 billion from 14.77 billion, while the net profit increased to USD 20.55 billion from 12.67 billion.
Still, the results missed market expectations on the back of supply shortages. CEO Tim Cook said “larger than expected supply constraints” cost the company USD 6 billion in Q3 and said the company expects shortages to cost even more during the holiday period, the Financial Times reported after an investor call. Supply constraints affected iPhone, iPad and Mac sales, Cook said, citing chip shortages and covid-19 related manufacturing disruptions in South-East Asia.
CFO Luca Maestri said the company’s active installed base of devices still reached a new all-time high. Maestri told investors that Apple had 750 million paying subscribers for its services, up from 660 million six months ago.
The CFO also noted that all geographic and products segments contributed to the positive show despite continued uncertainty in the macro environment. Apple returned over USD 24 billion to shareholders, and said it was keeping its a cash dividend for the quarter at USD 0.22 per share.
Looking more closely at revenues, product sales rose to USD 65.08 billion from 50.15 billion, with services increasing to USD 18.27 billion from 14.55 billion. The cost of sales also increased, to USD 48.19 billion from 40.00 billion, putting total operating expenses at USD 11.38 billion form 9.91 billion.
Sales almost doubled in Greater China, to USD 14.56 billion from 7.95 billion. They went up to USD 36.82 billion from 30.69 billion in the Americas, and to USD 20.79 billion from 16.90 billion in Europe. Growth was more muted in Japan and Rest of Asia Pacific, rising to USD 5.99 billion from 5.02 billion, and to USD 5.19 billion from 4.12 billion, respectively.
The iPhone generated just under half of the quarter’s revenues, climbing to USD 38.87 billion from 26.44 billion. Sales were more muted for Mac devices, with sales reaching USD 9.18 billion from 9.03 billion. Sales for iPads went higher to USD 8.25 billion from 6.79 billion. For wearables, home and accessories, they reached USD 8.78 billion from 7.87 billion.
Demand high going forward but supply issues will linger
Apple did not provide any specific guidance for the holiday season but Maestri told investors that demand is “very, very” strong, and that he expects record revenues again. “We wish we had more supply (from) where we stand right now,” Maestri said.
