Apple (AAPL 0.67%) bucked a trend of year-over-year earnings declines that were seen by many of its tech-giant peers recently. Despite significant foreign-exchange headwinds and an extremely tough year-ago comparison, the tech-giant's fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and earnings per share both increased year over year and beat analysts' average forecasts for the two metrics. Even more, management guided for more top-line growth in fiscal Q4.
Here are eight metrics capturing the company's strong performance in the face of a difficult macroeconomic backdrop.
NASDAQ: AAPL
Key Data Points
1. Revenue increased 8%
Apple's top line for the period was higher than any fiscal fourth quarter in the company's history, coming in at $90.1 billion. This translated to 8% year-over-year growth and beat analysts' average forecast for revenue of $88.9 billion. The company's top-line growth was also ahead of management's expectations for the quarter, even though foreign-exchange headwinds for the period turned out to be worse than expected.
Notably, management said during the company's earnings call that consolidated top-line year-over-year growth was in the double digits on a constant-currency basis.
2. Double-digit constant-currency growth in services
Highlighting the strength of Apple's services segment, which is arguably the company's most important long-term growth driver, management said that its growth rate was in the double digits on a constant-currency basis. This was despite some weakness in digital advertising and gaming. On a reported basis, services revenue increased 5% year over year.
Even the segment's growth on a reported basis was impressive, considering the tough year-ago comparison the company was up against. Services revenue increased 27% year over year in Apple's fourth quarter of fiscal 2021.
3. A record gross profit margin
The company's gross profit margin of more than 42% was a record for its fiscal fourth quarter. This is impressive considering how the challenging macroeconomic environment has pressured many companies' profitability recently. This led to record fiscal fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.29, which was ahead of analysts' consensus view for $1.17.
4. 20% trailing-12-month free cash flow growth
Management pointed out the company's impressive cash flow trends, noting that its free cash flow in fiscal 2022 rose 20% year over year.
5. $550 billion of share repurchases
During the call, Apple shared a mind-boggling statistic about the success of its share-repurchase program: Since its inception in 2012, the company has repurchased $550 billion worth of stock at an average price of $47.
Management added that it plans to continue returning cash to shareholders with its growing free cash flow.
6. More growth is on the way
Regarding its fiscal first quarter, Apple said it expects more top-line growth, although at a decelerated pace. But here's the kicker: It expects this growth despite a forecast for a 10 percentage-point headwind due to foreign exchange.
7. Mac is attracting new users
Apple's Mac segment was a standout during the quarter, with sales rising 25% year over year. But the best news about Mac was how it's attracting new Mac buyers. Management said nearly half of Mac buyers were new to the product.
On a related note, management said two-thirds of people buying an Apple Watch during the quarter were buying one for the first time.
Overall, the quarter highlighted an exceptionally managed company navigating a difficult environment adeptly. The performance, which included earnings-per-share growth, was particularly notable, considering tech-giants Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Amazon all saw their earnings decline over the same time frame.
