Apple 4th quarter 2020 results: new profit records. Thanks iPhone

Apple a few hours ago published itsfinancial statement for the 1st fiscal quarter of 2021, either the4th calendar quarter of 2020. The report therefore focuses on the months of October, November and December 2020, a normally important period for tech companies, given that it takes into account notable events such as Black Friday, Cyber ​​Monday or Christmas again, all three underpinning a massive rise in sales.

And this was not lacking for Apple this year, which recordedseveral new revenue and profit recordsover the period.

General income

These are not less than$111.4 billion in revenuethat Apple earned during the 4th quarter of 2020, with profits reaching$28.8 billion. The progression compared to the same quarter of 2019 is enormous: +21% for revenues and +24% for profits.

On the profit side, with +6.6 billion dollars recorded this quarter compared to the same quarter of the year before, Apple has largely made up for the year-over-year decline recorded in the previous quarter (-1 billion dollars) .

And it makes sense, the iPhone this year arrived exceptionally late. Usually, it is released in September and its first weeks of sales allow Apple to experience an already financially interesting third quarter. But in 2020, the iPhone 12 arrived in October (for the 12 and 12 Pro) and in November (for the 12 mini and 12 Pro Max). Thus, all iPhone sales are currently focused on the 4th quarter of 2020, which certainly allows Apple to reach these new profit and revenue records.

But this “iPhone lag” effect is not the only factor in this historic quarter, as detailed below.

Product by product

Apple is the iPhone above all

In Q4 2020, the iPhone generated65.6 billion in revenue. This is a new record for Apple, noting an increase of 17% compared to the year before.

This result is obviously caused, as stated above, by the delay in the release of the new generation.

But if we look at the second half of the year, to try to erase the “release delay” effect, we see that the iPhone supports $89.4 billion in revenue in 2019, compared to 92 billion for 2020. The progression is less impressive (+3%), but still present. The iPhone therefore sold more in the second half of 2020 than the previous year and the delay may not have had an impact overall.

Mac and iPad: Covid-19 effect?

The Mac generated$8.7 billion incomeover the period of interest, less than in the previous quarter (-0.3 billion), but more than the same quarter of the year before (+1.5 billion).

The iPad, too, notes a new record revenue generated figure in the 4th quarter of 2020, with$8.4 billion. This is 41% better than the same quarter of 2019.

Lockdowns in different countries around the world really pushed Mac and iPad sales in 2020. The increases in revenue over the past year illustrate this well. In 2020, Macs and iPads generated22 to 46% more incomecompared to the previous year, from April to December.

Services and others

Services also recorded a new record in profits generated, with$15.8 billion. This is 24% better than the year before. This category of Apple products has therefore continued its constant progression for several years now, driven by Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and more recently Apple One and Fitness+, both launched at the end of last year.

For the last category of connected accessories and home accessories, again, a revenue record is to be noted:13 billion dollarsfor the defined period and an increase of 30% compared to the previous year.

This category includes the Apple Watch, but also the HomePod and the AirPods, including the new AirPods Max headset. And like the services category, this product category has been growing continuously without blinking for several years now.

The quarter of all records

2020 was a very special year for the whole world and therefore for Apple. The first quarter of 2020 did not start under the best auspices for the Californian. But it didn't last. The second and third quarters were very good financially, notably driven by services and a renewed interest in the Mac and iPad.

The results for the last quarter of 2020 only confirm this trend, to which are added phenomenal iPhone sales. In short, COVID-19 and the global pandemiconly tickled the Cupertino giant.

Tune in later today for a report on the classic exchange between Tim Cook and journalists, taking place after each announcement of the results.

• Find itfull report from Apple here

Editor-in-chief for iPhon.fr. Pierre is like Indiana Jones, looking for the lost iOS trick. Also a long-time Mac user, Apple devices hold no secrets for him. Contact: pierre[a]iphon.fr.