Apple reported a 6% rise in revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, driven by a rebound in iPhone sales and growth across all business units except for wearables and accessories. For the period ending September 28, total sales increased to $94.9 billion, slightly surpassing Wall Street’s expectations of $94.6 billion. iPhone sales, a critical segment for the company, rose by 5.4% to $46.2 billion, reversing a trend of declining sales over the previous two quarters. This growth followed the release of the iPhone 16 in September, capturing just about one week of the new model’s sales in the quarterly results.
Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, stated during a conference call that iPhone sales set a new record for September, with increases noted across all geographical segments. However, the company faced a 35% drop in net income from the same period last year, recording $14.7 billion, or 97 cents per share. This decrease was attributed to a one-time tax charge linked to the reversal of the European General Court’s State Aid decision. Without the charge, Apple’s earnings per share (EPS) would have been $1.64, above analysts’ expectations of $1.60.
Following the earnings release, Apple shares initially fluctuated between gains and losses but eventually settled with a decline of 1% to 2%, trading around $224 per share.
In other product categories, Mac computers saw a modest sales increase of 1.3% to $7.7 billion, while iPad sales climbed by 7.8% to $6.9 billion. However, the Wearables, Home, and Accessories division, encompassing products like the Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple VisionPro headset, experienced a 3% decline in net sales, totaling $9 billion for the quarter.
