Apple records another quarter of growth for fiscal Q4 2015 (ending 26 September 2015), with profits rising by 31% Y-o-Y to $11.1 billion from revenues worth $42.1bn thanks to iPhone demand.
The company also mentions "all-time record" Mac sales and increased Apple Watch availability as growth drivers. iPhone sales for the quarter total 48.04 million (up from 39.27 in fiscal Q4 2014), with good part of the sales going to Greater China (and only 2 days of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales). As for the Watch Apple is still to provide actual sales numbers, since the wearable remains lumped with the iPod, Apple TV and Beats accessories in the "other products" category.
Meanwhile the iPad continues to decline, with sales falling by -20% Y-o-Y.
“Fiscal 2015 was Apple’s most successful year ever... This continued success is the result of our commitment to making the best, most innovative products on earth, and it’s a testament to the tremendous execution by our teams,” CEO Tim Cook says. “We are heading into the holidays with our strongest product lineup yet, including iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, Apple Watch with an expanded lineup of cases and bands, the new iPad Pro and the all-new Apple TV which begins shipping this week.”
A surprise Apple earner is enterprise-- described by Cook as a "major growth vector," the segment accounts for $25bn in fiscal 2015 revenue, a 40% increase over the previous year.
"The enterprise business is not to be underestimated," Cook continues. "I doubt very many people knew that we have a $25 billion enterprise business that we've quietly built in not too many years. Our penetration is low, but we have significant action going on to really deepen that."
This year saw Apple pushing quite heavily (at least for a company best known for consumer mobile devices) into the enterprise segment. It has partnerships with enterprise giants IBM and Cisco, and one cannot fail to point out the iPad Pro is more designed for use in the workplace rather than the home.
For the near future, Apple hopes for fiscal Q1 2016 revenues reaching $75.5-77.5bn and gross margin of around 39-40%.
