Apple earnings blow past analysts’ estimates yet again

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Apple earnings blow past analysts’ estimates yet again
Apple had another record-breaking quarter, with strong growth in iPhone, Mac, iPad, Services, etc.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple took in $81.4 billion in revenue during its most recent financial quarter, up 36% from the same quarter of last year. And profits were up as well, with earning per share hitting $1.30.

Market analysts just can’t keep up with how well the iPhone-maker is doing. These results beat expectations handily.

Analysts had predicted Apple would pull in $73.5 billion in the April-through-June quarter, according to Visible Alpha. They were expecting the company to earn $1.01 per share.

During the same quarter of 2020, Apple took in $59.7 billion. Apple never before brought in as much revenue as it did in 2021’s June quarter.

Apple Quarterly revenue Q3 2021
Apple broke its previous revenue record for Q3.
Chart: Cult of Mac

“This quarter, our teams built on a period of unmatched innovation by sharing powerful new products with our users, at a time when using technology to connect people everywhere has never been more important,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

To the Mac-maker, this was Q3 2021 because it begins its financial year in October.

Apple earnings in a post-COVID world. Sort of.

COVID-19 forced companies and individuals to buy computers of all kinds. And that benefited Apple’s bottom line throughout much of 2020 and into 2021. Although the epidemic has mostly wound down — for the time anyway — this doesn’t seem to have affected Apple sales.

The company saw dramatic year-over-year increases in Mac and iPad revenue in the first three months of 2021. And the same happened again in the April-to-June period.

Apple Mac iPad Quarterly Revenue Q3 2021
There were sizable annual increases in Mac and iPad revenue in the April-through-June 2021 period.
Chart: Cult of Mac

The iPhone 12 series has buoyed Apple revenue since its release in late 2020. Clearly, many people were holding off upgrading until they could get a 5G handset, and that’s just what Apple delivered last autumn. The iOS device once again delivered for Apple last quarter, with revue hitting $39.5 billion, up from 26.4 billion in the same quarter of 2020.

Apple iPhone Quarterly Revenue Q3 2021
iPhone revenue was up 50% last quarter.
Chart: Cult of Mac

Services are a closely watched segment of Apple’s business as analysts see this as a primary source of future revenue. This category includes income from the App Store as well as Apple Music, Apple TV+, etc. Services revenue increased 33% annually to $17.5 billion.

Source: Apple

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