Apple has published their Q4 2013 financial results for the quarter that ended on September 28, 2013. The company posted revenue of $37.5 billion. The company sold 14.1 million iPads, 33.8 million iPhones, and 4.6 million Macs, earning a quarterly net profit of $7.5 billion.
We’re pleased to report a strong finish to an amazing year with record fourth quarter revenue, including sales of almost 34 million iPhones,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re excited to go into the holidays with our new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, iOS 7, the new iPad mini with Retina Display and the incredibly thin and light iPad Air, new MacBook Pros, the radical new Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks and the next generation iWork and iLife apps for OS X and iOS.
For Q1 2014, Apple is providing guidance of revenue between $55 billion and $58 billion.
Estimates and Quarter Recap
For Q4 2013, Apple forecast revenue between $34 billion and $37 billion (which later clarified would be towards the high end following opening sales of the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s).
48 analysts consisting of Wall Street professionals (27) and independents (21) polled by Fortune forecast average earnings per share of $8.16 and $37.14 billion in revenue; analysts estimated 33.41 million iPhones and 13.91 million iPads sold. Amongst those polled, Horace Dediu of Asymco forecast revenue of $38 billion ($8.68 per share), with 30.8 million iPhones and 15.10 million iPads sold. Wall Street’s consensus estimated $36.84 billion in revenue for Q4 2013.
In the year-ago quarter, Apple earned $36 billion in revenue. Apple sold 14 million iPads, 26.9 million iPhones, 5.3 million iPods, and 4.9 million Macs, earning a quarterly net profit of $8.2 billion.
In September, Apple released iOS 7, a complete rethinking of Apple’s mobile operating system that sports a redesigned user interface as well as new features like Control Center and background app refresh. iOS 7 received positive reviews by the press and, just five days after the free software update was released, Apple announced that over 200 million devices were running it.
In the fourth quarter, Apple launched two new iPhones: the colorful iPhone 5c, and the flagship iPhone 5s. During the opening weekend, Apple sold over 9 million new iPhones, compared to iPhone 5 in 2012 which sold over 5 million during its opening weekend. The new iPhones were launched in 11 countries on September 20; for the first time, China was included in the first round of international launches.
In terms of other software and services, Apple released iTunes Radio alongside iOS 7 and a new version of iTunes for desktop computers. iTunes Radio, free with ads or ad-free for iTunes Match subscribers, has been, according to Apple, a success so far with over 1 billion songs streamed by 20 million listeners. The milestone was shared by Apple at its October 22 event, where the company announced new Macs and iPads that, however, will be included in the financial earnings of the company’s holiday quarter (same for the second round of international iPhone launches).
Graphical Visualization
Below, a series of graphs showing Apple’s Q3. Click for larger size.
Data
Below, we’ve also compiled a table with revenue data for fiscal quarters since 2008 and a summary of iPad sales to date.
| Fiscal Quarters (2013) | Revenue (billions) | Profit (billions) |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | $54.5 | $13.1 |
| Q2 | $43.6 | $9.5 |
| Q3 | $35.3 | $6.9 |
| Q4 | $37.5 | $7.5 |
| Total | $170.9 | $37 |
| Fiscal quarters | iPad Sales (millions) |
|---|---|
| Q3 2010 | 3.3 |
| Q4 2010 | 4.2 |
| Q1 2011 | 7.3 |
| Q2 2011 | 4.7 |
| Q3 2011 | 9.3 |
| Q4 2011 | 11.1 |
| Q1 2012 | 15.4 |
| Q2 2012 | 11.8 |
| Q3 2012 | 17.0 |
| Q4 2012 | 14.0 |
| Q1 2013 | 22.9 |
| Q2 2013 | 19.5 |
| Q3 2013 | 14.6 |
| Q4 2013 | 14.1 |
| Total | 169.2 Million iPads |
| Fiscal Quarters (2012) | Revenue (billions) | Profit (billions) |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | $46.33 | $13.06 |
| Q2 | $39.2 | $11.6 |
| Q3 | $35 | $8.8 |
| Q4 | $36 | $8.2 |
| Total | $156.53 | $41.66 |
| Fiscal Quarters (2011) | Revenue | Profit |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | $26.74 | $6 |
| Q2 | $24.67 | $5.99 |
| Q3 | $28.57 | $7.31 |
| Q4 | $28.27 | $6.62 |
| Total | $108.25 | $25.92 |
| Fiscal Quarters (2010) | Revenue | Profit |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | $15.68 | $3.38 |
| Q2 | $13.50 | $3.07 |
| Q3 | $15.7 | $3.25 |
| Q4 | $20.34 | $4.31 |
| Total | $65.22 | $14.01 |
| Fiscal Quarters (2009) | Revenue | Profit |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | $10.17 | $1.61 |
| Q2 | $8.16 | $1.21 |
| Q3 | $8.34 | $1.23 |
| Q4 | $9.87 | $1.67 |
| Total | $36.54 | $5.72 |
| Fiscal Quarters (2008) | Revenue | Profit |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | $9.6 | $1.58 |
| Q2 | $7.51 | $1.05 |
| Q3 | $7.46 | $1.07 |
| Q4 | $7.9 | $1.14 |
| Total | $32.47 | $4.84 |
