Sales of older products help Apple stand alone among tech chaos

Apple has performed the best among big technology companies for the current quarter, posting US$90.1 billion (A$140.6 billion) in revenue, an increase of 8% year-on-year.

But this quarter it was not the iPhone that drove the company’s performance, but rather its oldest hardware, its laptop computers, Reuters claims.

The company’s financial year ended on September 24, meaning these results were for its fourth quarter.

Revenue for the year was given as US$394.3 billion, also up 8% year-on-year. But revenue is forecast to fall by 8% during the December quarter.

iPhone revenue did set a record, but failed to match analysts’ forecasts. Sales were US$42.6 million against expectations of US$43.21 billion.

Shipment figures for the quarter from technology analyst firm Canalys claim Apple was the only leading vendor to increase year-on-year driven by robust demand, and grew 8%, shipping 53.0 million units.

But Mac sales of US$11.5 billion were miles ahead of forecasts of US$9.36 billion.

“This quarter’s results reflect Apple’s commitment to our customers, to the pursuit of innovation, and to leaving the world better than we found it,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in a statement.

“As we head into the holiday season with our most powerful line-up ever, we are leading with our values ​​in every action we take and every decision we make. We are deeply committed to protecting the environment, to securing user privacy, to strengthening accessibility, and to creating products and services that can unlock humanity’s full creative potential.”

Chief financial officer Luca Maestri said: “Our record September quarter results continue to demonstrate our ability to execute effectively in spite of a challenging and volatile macroeconomic backdrop.

“We continued to invest in our long-term growth plans, generated over US$24 billion in operating cash flow, and returned over US$29 billion to our shareholders during the quarter.

“The strength of our ecosystem, unmatched customer loyalty, and record sales spurred our active installed base of devices to a new all-time high. This quarter capped another record-breaking year for Apple, with revenue growing over US$28 billion and operating cash flow up US$18 billion versus last year.”

GET READY FOR XCONF AUSTRALIA 2022

Thoughtworks presents XConf Australia, back in person in three cities, bringing together people who care deeply about software and its impact on the world.

In its fifth year, XConf is our annual technology event created by technologists for technologists.

Participate in a robust agenda of talks as local thought leaders and Thoughtworks technologists share first-hand experiences and exchange new ways to empower teams, deliver quality software and drive innovation for responsible tech.

Explore how at Thoughtworks, we are making tech better, together.

Tickets are now available and all proceeds will be donated to Indigitek, a not-for-profit organization that aims to create technology employment pathways for First Nations Peoples.

Click the button below to register and get your ticket for the Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane event

GET YOUR TICKETS!