Apple chief financial officer Luca Maestri also said that $17 billion has been returned to its investors during the quarter through share repurchases and dividends; over $143 billion of the company’s $200 billion capital return programme has now been completed. The iPhone 6S Plus and iPhones with more storage have remained popular, and the costlier iGadgets mean higher profit margins. Cook said in an interview earlier this year that iPad owners were hanging onto their tablets for much longer periods, compared to their iPhones, which is why sales are in decline. Cook said in 2013 that Apple’s “core philosophy is to never fear cannibalization, adding: “If we don’t do it, someone else will”.
Advertisement
Looking forward, one of the most interesting things to watch will be how Apple’s iPhone sales fare going into 2016.
Apple’s revenue hit $51.5 billion (£33.6bn), rising 23 percent compared with the same period in 2014. However, that is 99 per cent up from $6.3 billion a year ago.
For the full year, unit sales fell 19.3 percent to 54.9 million, and dollars fell faster at 23.3 percent to $23.2 billion. $12.5 billion in sales came from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The figure accounts to almost a quarter of Apple’s total revenue.
Shares of Apple rose slightly after hours. The company’s forecast for the upcoming holiday season suggests that the company would surpass last year’s record for selling 74.5 million iPhones during the crucial holiday season.
Apple’s iPhone 6S may be a letdown for the technology giant’s suppliers, with analysts expecting cuts to production forecasts.
According to Reuters, analysts believe China will replace the United States as Apple’s biggest market, but they have failed to give a time frame on when this could happen.
Cook said he wasn’t anxious. That year’s dollar growth was 21 percent. Excluding the effects of currency changes, Cook said the company would grow between 8% and 11% this quarter.
The bad news is that iPad sales have continued to slide.
Advertisement
As expected, Apple has broken its Q4 iPhone sales record, moving 48.04 million smartphones last quarter.
