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Apple reported its fiscal fourth quarter 2013 earnings Oct. 28, and while the key metrics exceeded Wall Street expectations, the news wasn’t all to the company’s liking.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based PC maker, one of the richest companies in the world, posted revenue of $37.5 billion and net profit of $7.5 billion ($8.26 per share, down 8.6 percent from 2012), compared to $36 billion and $8.2 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Stockholders were watching. Apple’s stock price fell $6.45 in after-hours trading to $523.43.
iPhone sales were strong; Apple sold 33.8 million of them, a record for the fourth fiscal quarter, compared to 26.9 million in the year-ago quarter.
For a deeper look into Apple’s financial and market situations, read Wayne Rash’s analysis here.
But there are two key areas of concern: iPad sales were flat, and Mac sales were down 300,000 units from the fourth quarter of 2012. Apple also sold 14.1 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 14 million in the year-ago quarter. It sold 4.6 million Macs, compared to 4.9 million in the year-ago quarter.
Apple’s iPhones sell well in the United States, but the company continues to have trouble moving them internationally. This is because an increasing number of buyers are moving to less-expensive Android phones made by Samsung, HTC, Motorola and Nokia.
Apple sold 26 percent more iPhones than it did a year ago, but revenue from the product line was down 17 percent. The average iPhone sale price of $577 was down $4 from three months ago and down a full 10 percent from a year ago.
Apple provided guidance for its fiscal 2014 first quarter, projecting revenue between $55 billion and $58 billion.