Apple reported $62.9 billion earlier this month, with $37.2 billion in revenue from the sales of 46.9 million iPhones
Image via Apple
“We’re thrilled to report another record-breaking quarter that caps a tremendous fiscal 2018, the year in which we shipped our 2 billionth iOS device, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the App Store and achieved the strongest revenue and earnings in Apple’s history,”
Apple’s sales results beat records and forecasts for the past three-month period for the last quarter of 2018, the highest growth rate in three years with earnings-per-share of $2.91 growing per year. All-time quarterly records were made with $62.9 billion is a year-on-year increase from $52.6 billion last year. Apple shipped out 46.9 million iPhones during the September quarter, with revenue up to $37.2 billion, increasing year after year.
The average selling price or ASP of the iPhone is $793, going up from the $617.99 ASP from just one year ago in 2017. Premium pricing for the Phone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max has been driving the ASP increase. Analysts estimate that Apple would sell 47.5 million iPhones in the fourth quarter within the range of 46.7-48.1 million.
Apple provided live streaming for its Q4 2018 financial results conference call on November 1, 2018. The webcast is available for replay for up to two weeks after.
“We concluded a record year with our best September quarter ever, growing double digits in every geographic segment. We set September quarter revenue records for iPhone and Wearables and all-time quarterly records for Services and Mac.”
iPad, Mac and Services Revenue
The iPad raked in $4.1 billion in revenue with 9.7 million units sold, lower than analyst expectations of 10.5 million for the quarter. Mac revenue was $7.4 billion, higher than a year ago. Apple services has grown to $10 billion, up from $8.5 billion in 2017 for the same quarter. The Services arm keeps growing fast with analysts expecting ongoing growth in the future.
Consolidated Financial Statements
Data Summary
Changes in Reporting for 2019
Apple surprised many when the company also announced that they would no longer be reporting iPhone, iPad and Mac unit sales in earnings reports. This surprised many analysts given that this data was used as an indicator of growth and ASP calculations. However, the decision makes sense when iPhone sales are slowing down, while ASPs keep going up.
Apple will report revenue, sales growth, and guidance as before. However, given that a unit of sale is very different today than it was eleven years ago, sales of Apple products do not represent completely the product’s business health.
“A unit of sale is less relevant today than it was in our past.”
Pricing varies by a larger range today such as the iPhone ranging from $449 (iPhone 7) to $1,449 (iPhone XS). Maestri also pointed out that segment competitors do not provide unit sales.
For First Quarter of 2019
Analysts expect the first quarter of 2019 to also best records, with Apple predicting revenues of $89-$93 billion with gross margin between 38-38.5 percent. Operating expenses are expected at $8.7-$8.8 billion, while a tax rate of approximately 16.5 percent is expected.