Apple Earnings: $36B Revenue, 44M iOS Devices Sold

Apple released fiscal Q4 earnings this afternoon. It was a good news/bad news scenario for Cuptertino.

Revenues were somewhat higher than expected at $36 billion (vs. $28.3 billion a year ago). And Apple surprised with higher-than-expected iPhone sales, but iPad sales feel short of what analysts had anticipated. Apple posted quarterly net profit of $8.2 billion vs. $6.6 billion a year ago.

Now for the device numbers:

• iPhones: 26.9 million (vs. analyst estimates of 25 million)
• iPads: 14 million (vs. estimates of 15 million)
• Macs: 4.9 million (1 percent increase vs. a year ago)
• iPods: 5.3 million (19 percent decline vs. a year ago)

At 58 percent YoY growth the iPhone outpaced smartphone industry sales growth overall, which was 45 percent. However, as mentioned, analysts had expected from 15 to 17 million iPads to be sold during the quarter.

While Apple says 14 million iPads exceeded their own expectations some commentators are calling iPad sales “weak.” By comparison a year ago Apple sold 11 million iPad units in its fiscal Q4. CEO Tim Cook said during the earnings call that he was confident that the “tablet market would exceed the PC market.”

The coming holiday quarter should see stronger sales for Apple tablet devices, as well as the iPhone. It’s not yet clear whether the new Mini will be additive to traditional iPad sales or cannibalize them. In all, Apple said it sold over 44 million iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) in the last quarter.

Apple retail store revenues were $4.2 billion and the company’s operating margin was 40 percent. China revenue was $5.7 during the quarter. Greater China “represents 15 percent of Apple revenue for the fiscal year,” explained Tim Cook.

In addition, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said that Apple had made numerous improvements to Maps and that the company “will work non-stop” until Maps finally lives up its high expectations.

Apple projected $52 billion in gross revenue for the coming holiday quarter, which is one week shorter than last year.