Apple has announced the financial results for its fiscal 2017 fourth quarter that ended Sept. 30 — with revenues beating the Street’s estimate by $1.81 billion.
The tech giant posted quarterly revenue of $52.6 billion, an increase of 12% from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.07, up 24%. International sales accounted for 62% of the quarter’s revenue. This was Apple’s best fiscal fourth quarter results ever.
The Americas accounted for 13% of the company’s revenue, Europe 22%, Greater China 22%, Japan 6%, and the rest of Asia Pacific 3%. Those are year-over year changes of plus 14%, plus 20%, plus 12%, -11%, and 5%, respectively.
“We’re happy to report a very strong finish to a great fiscal 2017, with record fourth quarter revenue, year-over-year growth for all our product categories, and our best quarter ever for Services,” CEO Tim Cook said in a press release. “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’s year-over-year revenue growth rate accelerated for the fourth consecutive quarter and drove earnings per share growth of 24% in the September quarter,” added Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri. “We also generated strong operating cash flow of $15.7 billion and returned $11 billion to investors through our capital return program.”
Apple’s services category set an all-time quarterly revenue record of just over $8.5 billion. The category includes the App Store, iTunes Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, AppleCare, licensing fees, and more.
Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2018 first quarter:
- Revenue between $84 billion and $87 billion;
- Gross margin between 38% and 38.5%;
- Operating expenses between $7.65 billion and $7.75 billion;
- Other income/(expense) of $600 million;
- A tax rate of 25.5%.
Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.63 per share of the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on Nov. 16, 2017 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Nov. 13, 2017.
