Apple’s fourth quarter revenues up 2% from year-ago quarter

Apple has announced financial results for its fiscal 2019 fourth quarter that ended Sept. 28. The company posted quarterly revenue of $64 billion, an increase of 2% from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $3.03, up 4%. International sales accounted for 60% of the quarter’s revenue.

“We concluded a groundbreaking fiscal 2019 with our highest Q4 revenue ever, fueled by accelerating growth from Services, Wearables and iPad,” said CEO Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “With customers and reviewers raving about the new generation of iPhones, today’s debut of new, noise-cancelling AirPods Pro, the hotly-anticipated arrival of Apple TV+ just two days away, and our best lineup of products and services ever, we’re very optimistic about what the holiday quarter has in store.”

“Our strong business performance drove record Q4 EPS of $3.03 and record Q4 operating cash flow of $19.9 billion,” added Chief Financial Offier Luca Maestri. “We also returned over $21 billion to shareholders, including almost $18 billion in share repurchases and $3.5 billion in dividends and equivalents, as we continue on our path to reaching a net cash neutral position over time.”

Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2020 first quarter: revenue between $85.5 billion and $89.5 billion; gross margin between 37.5% and 38.5%; operating expenses between $9.6 billion and $9.8 billion; other income/(expense) of $200 million; and a tax rate of approximately 16.5%

Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.77 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on Nov. 14, 2019 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Nov. 11, 2019.