15 interesting points from today’s earnings call

Apple Store (Stanford 2, North California, exterior 001)

Apple just announced its earnings for its September quarter, and despite all of the ‘doom’ talk and lowball analyst predictions, the numbers are actually pretty good. In fact, the company set a record for iPhone sales during the 3-month period.

We’re just finishing up the conference call, where Tim Cook and his CFO Peter Oppenheimer talked about Apple’s performance, and offered some insight into its future. And as usual, we’ve rounded up the 15 most interesting points for you…

  • 33.8 million iPhone sales is a record for Apple in the September quarter
  • iPad accounted for 90% of tablet activations during the quarter
  • iOS platform accounted for 95% of enterprise mobile app activations and 72% of all mobile device activations in September quarter.
  • Over 64% of iOS devices now on iOS 7, fastest software update ever
  • 20 million unique users have tried iTunes Radio
  • Over 1 billion songs played on iTunes Radio
  • iTunes stores recorded record revenue this quarter
  • Best education quarter ever: more than $1 billion in revenue
  • Apple now has $146 billion in cash, only $35.5 billion domestic (US)
  • Apple earned $171 billion in revenue during its fiscal year 2013
  • Completed 15 strategic acquisitions this year, roughly one acquisition every 3-4 weeks.
  • 411 retail stores in September quarter, average revenue was $10.9 million compared to $11.2 million last year.
  • 30 new Apple Stores coming in 2014
  • Cook: Apple sees growth opportunities in current markets as well as new ones.
  • Apple is deferring $900 million in revenue for iOS device/Mac sales due to new ‘free’ software initiative

Overall, it seems like Apple had a solid Q4 thanks to the launch of its 2 new iPhones—iPhone sales make up over half its business. Admittedly, iPad sales are flat, and margins aren’t top-notch, but APPL is holding steady at $530 after hours.

Looking forward, we’re anticipating Apple to have its largest holiday quarter ever, with new iPhones and iPads in stores across more markets than ever before. We’re also expecting a big 2014, with Tim Cook hinting at ‘new product categories.’