Apple posts record quarter as sales boom during Christmas period

Revenue rose 11 per cent year-on-year as iPhone and Mac sales saw gains

Apple outperformed expectations by posting all-time record quarterly sales of $123.9bn for its fiscal first quarter ending December 25, an 11 per cent year-on-year rise.

Product revenue jumped from $95.7bn compared with the same period in 2020 to $104.4bn while services grew to $19.5bn from $17.8bn.

All products apart from the iPad saw revenue increase, with Mac sales up from $8.7bn to $10.9bn and iPhone sales reaching $71.6bn up from $65.6bn.

In Europe, revenue increased from $27.3bn in the prior year to $29.7bn.

The vendor recorded a net income of $34.6bn up from $28.8bn a year ago, with quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.10.

"We set all-time records for both developed and emerging markets and saw revenue growth across all of our product categories, except for iPad, which we said would be supply constrained," Apple CEO Tim Cook said on an earnings call.

"This is our eighth quarter reporting results in the shadow of the pandemic and while I can't say it gets any easier, I can say I'm incredibly proud of the way our teams have come together and continue to innovate on behalf of our customers.

"During the December quarter, we set an all-time revenue record for iPhone, thanks to the strength of our incredible iPhone 13 lineup. We also set another all-time revenue record for Mac with customers eager to get their hands on an M1-powered MacBook Air, iMac or MacBook Pro."

Cook added that the supply constrains were "higher" than in the prior quarter but forecasts the situation getting better this quarter.

"On March, we're saying that we will do better or have less constraints than we had in the December quarter," he added.

"If you look at the commonality between different products, there is some. But generally, the challenge is on legacy nodes. And these legacy nodes are by supplier."