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iPhone, Apple Watch And App Store Drive Apple's Revenue Growth
Apple on Tuesday reported high quarterly revenue and profit, boosted by iPhone sales, and issued an outlook that was identified as a sign of solid demand for its latest iPhone 6s and 6s Plus models. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $51.5 billion and quarterly net profit of $11.1 billion, or $1.96 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $42.1 billion and net profit of $8.5 billion, or $1.42 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 39.9 percent compared to 38 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
The growth was fueled by record fourth quarter sales of iPhone, the expanded availability of Apple Watch, and all-time records for Mac sales and revenue from services.
The world's largest company by market value said that it sold about 48.05 million iPhones in the fourth quarter. Apple's sales in China nearly doubled to $12.52 billion, accounting for nearly a quarter of its total revenue.
Not all devices were as successful as the iPhone. The company said iPad sales fell 20% from a year earlier to 9.88 million units, the seventh consecutive quarter the tablet has seen shrinking sales.
"Fiscal 2015 was Apple’s most successful year ever, with revenue growing 28% to nearly $234 billion. This continued success is the result of our commitment to making the best, most innovative products on earth, and it’s a testament to the tremendous execution by our teams," said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. "We are heading into the holidays with our strongest product lineup yet, including iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, Apple Watch with an expanded lineup of cases and bands, the new iPad Pro and the all-new Apple TV which begins shipping this week."
Apple also provided the following guidance for its fiscal 2016 first quarter:
- revenue between $75.5 billion and $77.5 billion
- gross margin between 39 percent and 40 percent
- operating expenses between $6.3 billion and $6.4 billion
- other income/(expense) of $400 million
- tax rate of 26.2 percent