A few days ago, Apple released the results for its 2024 fiscal fourth quarter (which ran from June 30, 2024, to September 28, 2024) and held a call with analysts to discuss the results. The fiscal fourth quarter is typically a less important quarter for Apple. The fiscal quarter that we are in right nowâthe first fiscal quarter of the new fiscal yearâis the one that is typically Apple's big revenue quarter because of holiday sales. Apple's 2024 Q4 was also unusual this year because Apple accounted for a one-time charge of $10.2 billion resulting from a long-running tax case that Apple lost in the European Union relating to Ireland. But Apple is such a big company now that it can pay someone $10 billion and still have a profitable quarter. Revenue was $94.9 billion, which is an all-time record for Apple's fiscal fourth quarter and up substantially from $89.5 billion this time last year. If you want to get all of the nitty-gritty details, you can listen to the audio from the announcement conference call on the Apple website, or you can read a transcript of the call prepared by Jason Snell of Six Colors. Apple's official press release is here. Here are the items that stood out to me.
iPhone
- Apple's iPhone revenue for the quarter was a record $46.2 billion, up 6% from this time last year. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that this was a result of sales growth in every part of the world where Apple sells iPhones.
- Apple CFO Luca Maestriâwho appeared for the last time on an earnings call because he is transitioning to another role as he prepares for retirement after a decade in this positionânoted that the number of active iPhones reached an all-time high this quarter.
- iPhone revenue was 49% of all Apple revenue this quarter, which is consistent with the last few years.
iPad
- Apple's iPad revenue for the quarter was $7 billion, up from $6.4 billion this time last year and only slightly down from $7.2 billion this time two years ago. $7 billion in iPad sales is a great number for Apple. As I mentioned three months ago, it is pretty rare for Apple to have a quarter with over $7 billion in iPad sales and when that does happen, it is often during a fiscal first quarter where there are holiday sales. To reach $7 billion, and to do so in the months of July, August, and September where there are no special reasons for higher-than-normal iPad sales is pretty impressive.
- Well over 50% of people buying an iPad are buying their first iPad.
- iPad revenue was 7% of all Apple revenueâpretty close to Apple's Mac revenue, which was 8%.
Other
- Cook mentioned that the Apple Vision Pro Vision Pro now has more than 2,500 native spatial apps and is compatible with over 1.5 million iPad apps.
- AI is a big focus for Apple right now, so of course Cook finished his prepared remarks by discussing this technology: "As we close out the year, we have the best lineup weâve ever had going into the holiday season, including Apple Intelligence, which marks the start of a new chapter for our products. This is just the beginning of what we believe generative AI can do, and I couldnât be more excited for whatâs to come." Cook also noted that iOS 18.1 adoption is twice as fast as iOS 17.1 adoption, presumably because of customer interest in AI.
- Services, which is a subset of Apple's revenue that includes everything from the App Store to Apple TV+, saw an all-time record of $25 billion, up 12% year-over-year.
- Apple noted that the quarter marked the 10-year anniversary of Apple Pay and the 5-year anniversary of the Apple Card. Maestri noted that the Apple Card was ranked #1 in customer satisfaction among co-branded credit cards by JD Power for the fourth year in a row.
- Cook noted that the emails he has been getting from people taking advantage of the new feature to use AirPods Pro 2 to run a hearing test and act as a hearing aid are "staggering and heartwarming."
- Over 75% of people purchasing an Apple Watch are purchasing their first Apple Watch.
