Apple Inc. raised $37.4 billion in revenue in the third quarter and a quarterly net profit of $7.7 billion, or $1.28 per share, on the strength of the company’s iPhone, Mac and services growth.
This revenue compares to $35.4 billion and a net profit of $6.9 billion, or $1.07 per share, in the same quarter last year. Furthermore, Apple said that its gross margin for the quarter was 39.4 percent compared to 36.9 percent in the same quarter last year. Interestingly enough, Apple’s international sales accounted for more than half of the quarter’s revenue at 59 percent.
Tim Cook, Apple CEO, said in a statement that the company’s revenue was “fueled by strong sales of iPhone and Mac” as well as “continued growth of revenue from the Apple ecosystem, driving our highest EPS growth rate in seven quarters.”
Cook added that Apple is “exited” about the upcoming releases of iOS 8, which Cook called “the biggest release since the launch of the Apple App Store” and OS X Yosemite, which he said “has been redesigned with a fresh look and powerful Apps,” as well as other new products that have yet to be announced.
“With powerful connectivity features, these upcoming releases will allow Macs and iOS devices to work together in even smarter ways,” Cook said. “Customers can start an activity like writing an email with one device and pass it to another picking up where they left off without missing a beat. They will even be able to make and received iPhone calls with their Mac.”
Apple generated $10.3 billion in cash during the quarter and returned more than $8 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO, added that it has taken action on more than $74 billion of Apple’s $130 billion capital return program with six quarters left to complete it.
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