Apple CEO Tim Cook writes to employees after Q4 2014 earnings call
Still in buoyant mood after the launch of the iPhone 6, Apple Watch, and iPad Air 2 -- even the Mac mini -- Apple gave its Q4 2014 earnings call yesterday. CEO Tim Cook announced that the company generated $42.1 billion in revenue in the quarter and a net profit of $8.5 billion, up from $37.5 billion and $7.5 billion for the same period last year. Referring to the "biggest iPhone launch ever", Cook explained that Apple is due to enter the holiday season with its "strongest product lineup ever".
He explained that 60 percent of the quarter's revenue came from international sales, and sales have gone up in just about every area of the company with the exception of iPad and iPod sales. The iPhone remains the biggest seller (some 39.272 million units, up 16.2 percent), and Mac sales are also strong (5.52 million units, up 20.7 percent).
A 12.5 percent drop in iPad sales "a speed bump, not a huge issue" for Cook, and it's hard to complain about 12.316 million sales. iTunes still gives a hefty boost to Apple's income, providing $4.208 billion in Q4 2014 (up 8.2 percent).
Shortly after making the announcements, the CEO wrote to company employees praising their hard work. Here's Cook's letter in full:
Team,
Today we reported Apple’s highest September quarter revenue ever and our strongest revenue growth rate in seven quarters. These very strong results were made possible by your hard work and dedication.
Customers around the world are loving the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, quickly making this the fastest and most successful iPhone launch in history. The Mac set a new all-time record while the rest of the PC market declined. And the App Store was once again an important driver of our overall revenue growth.
Today we’re launching Apple Pay in the US, giving our customers a simple, secure and private way to pay. Later this week we’ll be shipping the new iPad Air 2, the world’s thinnest tablet and the most powerful iPad we’ve ever made. The new 27 inch iMac with Retina 5K display, which we just introduced last week, is already being hailed as the best visual experience ever on a computer. This is an amazing lineup for the holidays.
The user experience across all our products keeps getting better, thanks to the deep collaboration among our teams. iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite have raised the bar for mobile and desktop operating systems, and they work together in elegant, intuitive ways that only Apple can deliver.
Later this week, I’ll be talking with a group of Apple employees in Beijing. We’re going to record the meeting so you can watch it on AppleWeb, and we’ll include questions from other sites. Please visit AppleWeb to submit a question and I’ll answer as many as I can.
Congratulations on the strong results we’ve achieved together. We can all be proud of the quarter we just reported, and the work that keeps Apple the most innovative company in the world.
Tim
Looking forward to the next quarter -- Q1 2015 -- Apple is expecting revenue between $63.5 billion and $66.5 billion, gross margin between 37.5 percent and 38.5 percent, operating expenses between $5.4 billion and $5.5 billion, and additional income of $325 million.
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