Apple on Thursday posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings as well as a record September for iPhone sales, as it lays the groundwork for its new ambitions in artificial intelligence technologies.
Apple (AAPL) The most valuable company in the world, seeks to offer its version of ai, called Apple Intelligence, to its global base of 2.2 billion users, largely through its recently launched iPhone 16.
However, early indications from a number of market research groups, Wall Street analysts and Apple-focused websites suggest that demand for the new smartphone is approaching or just below iPhone 15 levels, as Consumers seem happy to wait for more details about Apple. Implementation of intelligence and software updates linked to the group's broader ai strategy.
Apple said earnings for the three months ending in September, the group's fiscal fourth quarter, were pegged at $1.64 per share, a figure up 12.3% from the same period last year and 18 cents ahead of the Street consensus forecast.
However, removing a one-time charge to reflect a recent European tax ruling cuts the fourth-quarter total to 97 cents per share.
Group revenue, Apple said, rose 6% from last year to $94.93 billion, a figure that narrowly beat analyst estimates of $94.56 billion.
Apple said iPhone revenue rose 5.5% from last year to a record September quarter of $46.22 billion, beating Street forecasts, while sales in China were broadly flat versus the previous year. last year at $15.03 billion, as the post-Covid recovery of the world's second-largest economy continues to falter.
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“During the quarter, we are excited to announce our best products yet, with the new lineup of iPhone 16, Apple Watch Series 10, AirPods 4, and notable features for hearing health and sleep apnea detection,” said the director. executive Tim Cook. And this week, we launched our first set of features for Apple Intelligence, setting a new standard for privacy in ai and boosting our lineup heading into the holiday season.”
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Apple shares fell 1.3% in after-hours trading to indicate a Friday opening price of $222.79 each, a move that would trim the stock's year-to-date gain to about 15.7%.
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Revenue from Apple's key services business, which includes Apple Pay, iCloud and Apple TV, rose 12% to $24.97 billion, just shy of the $25.3 billion the Street forecast.
Hardware sales were mixed: Mac sales rose 1.7% from last year to $7.74 billion, Apple said, and iPad sales rose 8% to $6.95 billion. Sales of wearable devices, which include the AppleWatch, fell 3% to $9.04 billion.
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