After the closing of the US stock market on Thursday (November 2nd), Apple's fourth quarter earnings exceeded expectations. However, due to the continuous decline in revenue and weak guidance, the company's stock price fell by over 4% after hours, and now the decline has narrowed to around 2.7%.
The financial report specifically shows that in the fourth quarter of the 2023 fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, Apple's revenue (sales) was $89.498 billion, with earnings per share of $1.46, both stronger than market expectations of $89.28 billion and $1.39.
However, it should be pointed out that sales of nearly $89.5 billion were lower than the same period last year's $90.146 billion, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year decline in the company's sales, with the longest duration since 2001. This resulted in a decrease of approximately 3% in total sales in fiscal year 2023 compared to fiscal year 2022.
The good news is that Apple's Q3 net profit was $22.956 billion, stronger than the $20.721 billion in the same period last year; The gross profit margin is 45.2%, higher than the market expectation of 44.5%.
According to business classification, Apple's product sales in this quarter were $67184 million, of which iPhone revenue was $43.805 billion, which was in line with expectations and increased by 2% year-on-year.
Apple CEO Cook told the media that compared to the iPhone 14 series at the same time last year, the iPhone 15 will perform better. He added that due to strong demand, the supply of iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max is limited.
However, only the iPhone recorded (year-on-year) growth among hardware devices, while other devices such as the Mac and iPad did not perform as well as the same period last year. Among them, Mac revenue was $7.614 billion, lower than the market expectation of $8.63 billion; The iPad was $6.443 billion, higher than the expected $6.07 billion.
Cook stated that the overall market for personal computers (PCs) is "full of challenges". He said, "Mac will have a significantly better quarterly performance in the quarter ending in December. We have M3 (chips), and we have new products
Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter ending in December, Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri expects the company's revenue to be "similar" to the same period last year. But he warned that sales of iPads and Macs may experience a double-digit percentage decline in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The financial report also showed that wearable, home and other devices generated sales of $9.322 billion in the previous quarter, which was lower than the expected $9.43 billion. Apple's Greater China revenue in the fourth quarter was $15.084 billion, lower than analysts' expectations of $17.01 billion, compared to $15.47 billion in the same period last year.
In terms of service business, Q3's sales revenue was $22.314 billion, higher than the same period last year's $19.188 billion and market expectations of $21.35 billion, with a year-on-year growth of over 16%, making it a highlight in the financial report. Cook said, "Every major service has set a record
Maestri wrote in the financial report that the number of active users of Apple devices reached a historic high this quarter, but did not provide a specific number. Analysts believe that the increase in user numbers indicates the potential for future growth in their service sector.
Currently, Apple holds $162.1 billion in cash, down from $166.5 billion in the previous quarter. Maestri wrote, "We have returned nearly $25 billion to shareholders while continuing to invest in our long-term growth plan