Apple is dominating the headlines this past week. Their most recent news includes reporting record revenue of $89.6 billion for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2021. For the period ended March 27, 2021, Apple’s revenue increased 54% over the same period last year. International sales represented 67% of the quarter’s total revenue.
CEO comments
“This quarter reflects both the enduring ways our products have helped our users meet this moment in their own lives, as well as the optimism consumers seem to feel about better days ahead for all of us,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in the company’s April 28, 2021 earnings report.
“Apple is in a period of sweeping innovation across our product lineup, and we’re keeping focus on how we can help our teams and the communities where we work emerge from this pandemic into a better world. That certainly begins with products like the all-new iMac and iPad Pro, but it extends to efforts like the 8 gigawatts of new clean energy we’ll help bring onto the grid and our $430 billion investment in the United States over the next 5 years,” Cook added.
Quarterly highlights
Other financial highlights from the quarter include the following:
- The company’s total net sales of $89.6 billion included $72.7 billion in product sales and $16.9 billion from services.
- iPhone sales comprised the largest portion of product income at $47.9 billion, followed by Mac at $9.1 billion, iPad at $7.8 billion and Wearables, Home and Accessories at $7.8 billion.
- Product income was $72.7 billion, compared to $45.0 billion for the same period last year, an increase of 61.6%.
- Services income was $16.9 billion compared to $13.3 billion for the same period last year, an increase of 26.6%.
- The company reported net income of $23.6 billion, compared to $11.2 billion for the same period last year.
- Diluted earnings per share were $1.40, compared to $0.64 per share for the same period last year.
- At the end of the quarter, Apple reported $40.0 billion in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, compared to $43.0 billion for the same period last year.
- Apple’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.22 per share of common stock, a 7% increase.
“We are proud of our March quarter performance, which included revenue records in each of our geographic segments and strong double-digit growth in each of our product categories, driving our installed base of active devices to an all-time high,” said Luca Maestri, CFO. “These results allowed us to generate operating cash flow of $24 billion and return nearly $23 billion to shareholders during the quarter. We are confident in our future and continue to make significant investments to support our long-term plans and enrich our customers’ lives.”
Maestri also reported that Apple now has 660 million paid subscribers for its various subscription services, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple News+ and Apple Fitness+. This includes the addition of 40 million new paid subscribers during the quarter. The company did not reveal subscription numbers by service, however.
“We’re adding new services that we think our customers will love, while also continuing to improve the breadth and quality of our current service offerings,” Maestri said.
Other highlights
Cook shared additional highlights during the earnings call:
- The last three quarters for Mac have been the best ever.
- Wearables, home and accessories increased by 25% year-over-year.
- Apple introduced Apple Card Family and Apple Podcast Subscriptions.
- The company has launched App Tracking Transparency to give users choices about how their data is used and shared across their apps.
- Over the next five years, the company plans to invest $430 billion, creating 20,000 jobs in the U.S.
Because of the uncertainty around COVID, Apple did not provide revenue guidance. However, the company expects double-digit revenue growth compared to last year. Supply constraints will have an impact on revenue between $3 to $4 billion, and gross margin is estimated to be between 41.5% and 42.5%.
Insider Take
From looking at Apple’s financials, you wouldn’t know there was a pandemic going on. The company had exceptional financials for the quarter with record revenue growth in both products and services. Of particular note is the growth in subscription services revenue and total number of subscribers. While Apple’s App Tracking Transparency isn’t popular with everyone, and the podcast wars are heating up, Apple has much to bank on for a successful future.
