Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Apple is growing again — and sold 78 million iPhones last quarter

The company also topped overall expectations for sales and earnings.

Apple Holds Event To Announce New Products
Apple Holds Event To Announce New Products
Stephen Lam / Getty

Boosted by strong iPhone sales, Apple did indeed return to growth in the last part of 2016 following several quarters of year-on-year sales declines.

The company sold 78 million iPhones in the quarter, up 5 percent from a year earlier and roughly in line with what analysts expected.

Overall, Apple said Tuesday that it earned $17.9 billion, or $3.36 per share, on revenue of $78.4 billion. Analysts had been looking for per-share earnings of around $3.22, with revenue expected to be around $77.8 billion, at the high end of what Apple had forecast in October.

In other parts of the businesses Apple sold 13 million iPads and more than five million Macs. It also generated more than. $7 billion from its services efforts and more than $4 billion from other products, including the Apple Watch.

The results show Apple’s services business growing even faster than expected, while the iPad and other products did less well than many analysts expected. Apple said it was a record for Apple Watch, but again declined to provide any specific numbers.

“We’re thrilled to report that our holiday quarter results generated Apple’s highest quarterly revenue ever, and broke multiple records along the way,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. “We sold more iPhones than ever before and set all-time revenue records for iPhone, Services, Mac and Apple Watch,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. Revenue from Services grew strongly over last year, led by record customer activity on the App Store, and we are very excited about the products in our pipeline.”

However, Apple’s guidance for the current quarter was below what some analysts were hoping for. Apple said to expect revenue of between $51.5 billion and $53.5 billion, while many analysts were looking for $54 billion or more. Gross profit margins should be between 38 percent and 39 percent, Apple said.

Shares of Apple rose slightly in after-hours trading, changing hands recently at $124.62, up $3.27, or more than 2 percent.

The Greater China region was once again Apple’s weakest spot, with its $16.2 billion in sales representing a 12 percent decrease from the prior year. However, that was also an 85 percent improvement sequentially and a far narrower year-over-year decline than Apple saw in the prior quarter.

Here’s a look at how Apple did, product by product and region by region:


This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel