Julie Clover
Apple today presented its financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 (calendar quarter three), reporting quarterly revenue of $94.9 billion, up six percent from the prior year. During the call, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri discussed Apple's performance, iPhone 16 sales, growth in Apple services, and more.
Below, we've rounded up the most interesting details from the Q4 2024 earnings call.
Apple Profit
Revenue rose, but profit fell during the quarter as Apple had to make a one-time $10.2 billion payment to settle tax issues in the European Union.
Apple Intelligence
In an interview with CNBC, Apple CEO Tim Cook said iPhone 18.1 is driving customers to upgrade, with adoption rates exceeding those of iOS 17.1 in the same period last year.
“We're already seeing great feedback from customers and developers, and very early data that spans just three days: customers are adopting iOS 18.1 at twice the rate they adopted 17.1 in the year-ago quarter,” Cook told CNBC.
Cook also said Apple sees Apple Intelligence as a “compelling reason to upgrade,” but because it launched just three days ago, there's little data. “I couldn't be more excited about Apple Intelligence and the rollout that's coming our way,” Cook said. He's excited about “future releases” and said it's “changing [his] daily life.”
Apple is “moving as quickly as possible” to bring Apple Intelligence to more countries “while ensuring quality.” On the R&D front, the level of intensity Apple is putting into AI has “increased significantly,” with some existing resources also being dedicated to the new technology.
iPhone Sales
Unsurprisingly, iPhone Sales rose during the quarter, as the iPhone 16 models were released in September. iPhone revenue was $46.2 billion, up from $43.8 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Cook said iPhone 16 sales in September 2024 were higher than iPhone 15 sales in September 2023.
Mac and iPad Sales
Mac and iPad sales grew, with Mac revenue of $7.7 billion, up 8 percent from $6.4 billion last year.
Wearables
Apple’s Wearables revenue fell to $9 billion in the quarter, down 3 percent from $9.3 billion last year. Wearables revenue will be $37 billion in fiscal 2024, down from $39.9 billion in fiscal 2023.
While Wearables revenue declined, the Apple Watch install base reached a new all-time high, and more than half of the customers who purchased an Apple Watch during the quarter were new to the product.
Services
Services revenue was nearly $25 billion in the quarter, up from $22.3 billion in Q4 2023 and a new all-time high. Services revenue was $95 billion in fiscal 2024, up from $90 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Paid and transactional accounts reached new all-time highs, and paid accounts and paid subscriptions grew double-digits year over year. Apple has more than 1 billion paid services subscriptions on its platform, double the number four years ago.
Next Quarter
For the December quarter, Apple expects revenue to grow in the low to mid-single digits year over year, with services revenue growing double-digits.
Saying Goodbye to Luca Maestri
This is Apple’s final meeting with Maestri, who is leaving his role on January 1, 2025, to lead the enterprise services teams. Kevan Parekh will take over as CFO, joining Apple's executive team.
During the meeting, Cook thanked Maestri for his “exceptional service as Apple's CFO” and said that during his 10 years in the role, Luca has done “a truly exceptional job of shaping Apple as we know it today.” Maestri said that serving as Apple's CFO has been “a true privilege and an amazing journey.”
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