Apple’s best-ever quarter, strictly by the numbers

Apple pulled in more revenue and profits last quarter than it ever has before. These numbers were buoyed by strong iPhone and wearable sales. But the news isn’t all good.

Check out these charts that show with a glance how the company made its money last quarter.

Note that Apple‘s financial year isn’t the same as the calendar year. Today came the results from Apple Q1 2020, though to everyone else it was Q4 2019 — the very important holiday shopping season. Just look at the numbers in red on the following charts to see the most important figures.

Also, all the figures listed are in thousands. Apple’s most recent quarterly revenue was $91.8 billion, for example.

Record Apple Q1 2020 revenue and profit

Apple took in 8.8% more revenue last quarter than it during the same period of the previous year. And revenue during the October-to-December period was higher than during the same quarter of any previous year.

And profit was up 11.3% year over year. Apple is always profitable, but this is the first time the company’s profits have seen a year-over-year increase since Q4 2018.

iPhone, wearables and services are up

iPhone is undeniably Apple’s most important product. The company doesn’t reveal how many units it sells, but revenue from handsets was up strongly in Q1 2020 — just not as high as it was during the holiday season two years ago.

Sales of AirPods, Apple Watch and other wearables were also bright spots. Combined, they grew a dramatic 37%. However, Apple doesn’t break out how many of each type it sold.

Revenue from services also grew, as it has steadily for years. There’s little seasonality in this category. Notably absent is a “bump” from the debut of Apple TV+ during the Apple Q1 2020, though.

Mac sales were down

The news is not all good. A revenue decline shows that sales of MacBook, iMac, etc. apparently went down year over year. And that’s not likely to make Apple CEO Tim Cook sleep well, considering the highly-anticipated 16-inch MacBook Pro launched during this period. As did the first Mac Pro in years.

Tablet revenue was also lower year-over-year for Apple Q1 2020. But this is less surprising. A new iPad Pro debuted just in time for holiday sales in the previous year, pushing up revenue. That didn’t happen last quarter — the next iPad Pro is expected this spring.

As a sign of Apple’s changing focus, notice that both services and wearables generated substantially more revenue than either Mac or iPad.