Yesterday evening, after the close of trading on the American stock exchange, Apple announced its fiscal fourth quarter results that ended last year 26 September 2020 . In the quarter in question, the Apple recorded a turnover of 64, $ 7 billion (fourth quarter record, usually not very bright) and quarterly diluted earnings per share of 0, 73 dollars.

Apple’s fourth quarter is record-breaking, but iPhones are falling

Tim Cook , CEO of Apple , commented, “Apple ended a fiscal year defined by innovation in the face of adversity with a record September quarter, driven by all-time records for Mac and services. Despite ongoing impacts of COVID – 19, Apple is in the middle of introducing our highest-paying product and initial reactions to all of our new products, led by our first line of 5G-enabled iPhones, have been overwhelmingly positive. From remote learning to home office, Apple products have been a window to the world for users as the pandemic continues and our teams have met the needs of this moment with creativity, passion and the kind of great ideas that only Apple can deliver. “

International sales represented 59% of the quarterly turnover. On a geographical basis there are two noteworthy results and for opposite reasons: Europe is the largest market outside the US contributing with a turnover of 16 , 9 billion dollars, while China brings “just” 7.9 billion dollars into the coffers of the Apple, a significant decrease from 11, 13 billions of dollars recorded in the same period a year ago.

Apple, continues the growth of services

From the point of view of products iPhone is still the main Apple’s revenue engine, although i 26, 44 billions generated in the quarter under review are significantly down on the 33, 36 billion in the same quarter last year. The cause must be identified in the delayed debut of the new generation of iPhone this year: usually the smartphone of the Apple is presented during the first week of September, so that the results of the fourth fiscal quarter of Apple can already reflect the sales of the first examples. of the new model. This year, however, the debut took place on 13 October with sales only started last week for iPhone 10 and 12 Pro, while iPhone 10 mini will arrive on 13 November. And the delay of the new iPhones could also be the cause of the decline in turnover in China. The result of the systems Mac, desktop and notebook considered together, which total 9 billion in turnover , is interesting. Services are constantly growing, which in effect become a backbone of Apple’s turnover, with a turnover of 14, $ 6 billion.

“Our outstanding performance in the September quarter concludes an extraordinary fiscal year, in which we set new historical records for revenue, earnings per share and free cash flow, despite an environment extremely volatile and difficult macro. Our sales results and unparalleled customer loyalty have taken our active base of installed devices to an all-time high across all of our major product categories. We have also returned nearly $ 22 billions to shareholders during the quarter as we maintain our goal of achieving a net neutral position in terms of cash over time “said Luca Maestri , Apple’s CFO.