Apple Reports $1.67 Billion Profit for Q4 2009, Most Profitable Quarter Ever

Apple today announced financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter (third calendar quarter) of 2009. Apple posted revenue of $9.87 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $7.9 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.14 billion, or $1.26 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.6 percent, compared to 34.7 percent in the year-ago quarter, and international sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter's revenue.

The numbers represent the most profitable quarter in Apple's history and include record-breaking Mac and iPhone quarterly sales.

Conference Call Notes

- CFO Peter Oppenheimer, COO Tim Cook, and Treasurer Gary Wipfler present
- Thrilled with record-breaking results, particularly given economic conditions
- Second-highest revenue ever, highest profit ever
- Macs: Record Mac sales by over 440,000
- Sales growing faster than overall market in 19 of last 20 quarters
- Portable sales up 35% year over year, 74% of Mac product mix
- Back to school performance strong: highest sales ever for U.S. education segment
- Response to Snow Leopard has been tremendous
- Total iPod sales down slightly, but 50% of iPod customers buying first iPod
- iPod touch sales up 100% year-over-year
- MP3 player market share still over 70%
- Strong sales at iTunes Store, customers loving iTunes 9
- iPhone sales: almost 7.4 million in quarter, a new record
- Pleased that iPhone tops J.D. Power business and consumer satisfaction surveys
- iPhone in China begins later this month, great opportunity
- Expanding carrier relationships in U.K. and Canada
- Retail stores: highest revenue, margin, and Mac sales ever
- Retail store revenue $1.87 billion, up from $1.72 billion
- 50% of retail store sales to first-time Mac owners
- Opened or remodeled ~100 stores over the past year
- Total gross margin up to 36.2%: Due to solid Snow Leopard sales, lower iPod transition costs than expected, smaller than expected component costs rise
- Cash and short-term marketable securities total $34 billion
- New accounting standards will allow adjusting revenue recognition for iPhone
- Only the value of the future software updates will be deferred, not entire hardware amount
- Don't yet know what portion of revenue will be able to be immediately recognized
- Must begin new accounting by first quarter of fiscal 2011, but is a complicated transition and we are not prepared to adjust our reporting standards yet
- Thrilled with results: For the 2009 fiscal year, $36.5 billion revenue, $5.7 billion profit
- Looking forward to new products in 2010

via macrumors