It’s no secret that Apple continues to be one of the world’s most profitable companies, especially when it comes to consumer electronics, as well as software. After heralding the launch of its latest MacBook, iMac and M3 product lines, the company recently announced its financial results for its fiscal 2023 fourth quarter, which ended on 30th September 2023.
As far as numbers are concerned, Apple posted a quarterly revenue of $89.5 billion, which is down 1 percent year over year, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.46, up 13 percent year over year. Apple boss Tim Cook comments:
“Today Apple is pleased to report a September quarter revenue record for iPhone and an all-time revenue record in Services. We now have our strongest lineup of products ever heading into the holiday season, including the iPhone 15 lineup and our first carbon neutral Apple Watch models, a major milestone in our efforts to make all Apple products carbon neutral by 2030.”
According to Apple, the company’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.24 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on November 16, 2023 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 13, 2023. Luca Maestri, Apple CFO states:
“Our active installed base of devices has again reached a new all-time high across all products and all geographic segments, thanks to the strength of our ecosystem and unparalleled customer loyalty. During the September quarter, our business performance drove double digit EPS growth and we returned nearly $25 billion to our shareholders, while continuing to invest in our long-term growth plans.”
With that being said, Apple is among several smartphone manufacturers that have experienced declining sales during during Q3 2023 in North America, according to a report from Counterpoint Research. This change in market trends is attributed to customers holding onto their phones for longer, meaning that carriers aren’t seeing a lot of folks upgrading often.
As for Apple, the company’s shipments went down by 11 percent compared to its performance in Q3 2022. A major cause for this is due to the launch date of the iPhone 15 series, which launched later compared to the iPhone 14 series from last year, which pushed some shipments into Q4 2023.
This year’s iPhone 15 series has seen a somewhat rocky launch, with buyers reporting issues regarding overheating and OLED display problems on their units. Apple has since addressed these complaints however via software updates.
