The Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Q4 F2017 earnings results were released after closing bell tonight, and the iPhone maker reported earnings of $2.07 per share on $52.6 billion in sales, marking a 12% year-over-year increase in revenue. Wall Street had been looking for $1.87 per share in earnings on $50.8 billion in revenue. In last year’s fourth fiscal quarter, the iPhone maker reported $1.67 per share in earnings on $46.85 billion in sales.
Apple Q4 F2017 earnings
Apple said international sales accounted for 62% of the revenue it raked in during the quarter. Earnings per share grew 24%, the fourth quarter of accelerated growth rates in a row, noted Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri. Americas revenue grew to $20.2 billion from $20.4 billion last year. Greater China revenues finally reversed course and climbed to $9.8 billion from $8.8 billion last year. Sales in Europe, Japan and the rest of the Asia Pacific region were also up.
Apple shipped 46.7 million iPhones, raking in $28.8 billion in revenue. The Street had been estimating 46 million iPhones for Apple’s fourth fiscal quarter, which included only about a week of iPhone 8 and 8 Plus sales. In the year-ago quarter, Apple shipped 45.5 million iPhones. The company shipped 10.3 million iPads, a year-over-year increase of 11%, and 5.4 million Macs, a 10% increase year over year. Services revenue grew 34% year over year to $8.5 billion, the highest quarterly services revenue ever, while other products revenues increased 36% to $3.2 billion.
AAPL issues strong guidance
For the first quarter of fiscal 2018, Apple guided for $84 billion to $87 billion in sales, a gross margin of 38% to 38.5%, and operating expenses of $7.65 billion to $7.75 billion. The buy-side was estimating about $85 billion in sales for the December quarter, so that outlook is pretty much what the Street wanted. In the year-ago quarter, Apple posted $78.4 billion in revenue.
“With fantastic new products including iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, Apple Watch Series 3, and Apple TV 4K joining our product lineup, we’re looking forward to a great holiday season, and with the launch of iPhone X getting underway right now, we couldn’t be more excited as we begin to deliver our vision for the future with this stunning device,” Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said in a statement.
After the Apple Q4 F2017 earnings results were released, the company’s stock jumped by as much as 3.27% to $173.60 in after-hours trading.
