Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

Cupertino, California — 30 October, 2019 — Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2019 fourth quarter ended 28 September, 2019. The Company posted quarterly revenue of US$64 billion, an increase of 2 per cent from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of US$3.03, up 4 per cent. International sales accounted for 60 per cent of the quarter’s revenue.

“We concluded a groundbreaking fiscal 2019 with our highest Q4 revenue ever, fuelled by accelerating growth from Services, Wearables and iPad,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “With customers and reviewers raving about the new generation of iPhones, today’s debut of new, noise-cancelling AirPods Pro, the hotly-anticipated arrival of Apple TV+ just two days away, and our best lineup of products and services ever, we’re very optimistic about what the holiday quarter has in store.”

“Our strong business performance drove record Q4 EPS of US$3.03 and record Q4 operating cash flow of US$19.9 billion,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “We also returned over US$21 billion to shareholders, including almost US$18 billion in share repurchases and US$3.5 billion in dividends and equivalents, as we continue on our path to reaching a net cash neutral position over time.” 

Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2020 first quarter:

• revenue between US$85.5 billion and US$89.5 billion
• gross margin between 37.5 per cent and 38.5 per cent
• operating expenses between US$9.6 billion and US$9.8 billion
• other income/(expense) of US$200 million
• tax rate of approximately 16.5 per cent

Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of US$0.77 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on 14 November, 2019 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on 11 November, 2019.

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q4 2019 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT on 30 October, 2019 at 102.p.syniva.es/investor/earnings-call/. This webcast will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.

Apple periodically provides information for investors on its corporate website, apple.com, and its investors relations website, investor.apple.com. This includes press releases and other information about financial performance, reports filed or furnished with the SEC, information on corporate governance and details related to its annual meeting of shareholders.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include without limitation those about the Company’s estimated revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, other income/(expense), tax rate, and plans for return of capital. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation: the effect of global and regional economic conditions on the Company's business, including effects on purchasing decisions by consumers and businesses; the ability of the Company to compete in markets that are highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change; the ability of the Company to manage frequent introductions and transitions of products and services, including delivering to the marketplace, and stimulating customer demand for, new products, services and technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that shifts in the mix of products and services and in the geographic, currency or channel mix, component cost increases, increases in the cost of acquiring and delivering content for the Company’s services, price competition, or the introduction of new products or services, including new products or services with higher cost structures, could have on the Company’s gross margin; the dependency of the Company on the performance of distributors of the Company's products, including cellular network carriers and other resellers; the risk of write-downs on the value of inventory and other assets and purchase commitment cancellation risk; the continued availability on acceptable terms, or at all, of certain components, services and new technologies essential to the Company's business, including components and technologies that may only be available from single or limited sources; the dependency of the Company on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties, many of which are located outside of the US and which may affect the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered to the Company; the effect of product and services design and manufacturing defects on the Company’s financial performance and reputation; the dependency of the Company on third-party intellectual property and digital content, which may not be available to the Company on commercially reasonable terms or at all; the dependency of the Company on support from third-party software developers to develop and maintain software applications and services for the Company’s products; the impact of unfavourable legal proceedings, such as a potential finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others; the impact of complex and changing laws and regulations worldwide, which expose the Company to potential liabilities, increased costs and other adverse effects on the Company’s business; the ability of the Company to manage risks associated with the Company’s retail stores; the ability of the Company to manage risks associated with the Company’s investments in new business strategies and acquisitions; the impact on the Company's business and reputation from information technology system failures, network disruptions or losses or unauthorised access to, or release of, confidential information; the ability of the Company to comply with laws and regulations regarding data protection; the continued service and availability of key executives and employees; political events, international trade disputes, war, terrorism, natural disasters, public health issues, and other business interruptions that could disrupt supply or delivery of, or demand for, the Company’s products; financial risks, including risks relating to currency fluctuations, credit risks and fluctuations in the market value of the Company’s investment portfolio; and changes in tax rates and exposure to additional tax liabilities. More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect the Company’s financial results is included in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and subsequent filings. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.