Apple Inc. reports impressive profit and revenue in its fourth quarter

Apple Inc. reported net profit of $8.5 billion (a 12.7% increase) and revenue of $42.1 billion (up 12.4%) in its fourth quarter.

The company reported full year revenue of $182.8 billion, up 7% from fiscal 2013, and profit of $39.5 billion (up from $37 billion the year before).

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, said that the company’s fiscal 2014 was “one for the record books.”

In its fourth quarter Apple sold 39.3 million iPhones, which is 16% more than the year before. It sold 5.5 million computers, an increase of 21%.

Cook said that the results were “absolutely stunning”, adding that the Mac market share is at its highest point since 1995.

iPad sales were not quite as impressive though, with the company reporting that iPad sales have gone down for the third consecutive quarter. Apple said it sold 12.3 million iPad units in Q4 2014, a 13% drop year-over-year.

However, Cook said that investors should not be too worried about the iPad sales figures, assign that the iPad market was saturated and that the decline in sales could be a result of slower upgrade cycles and cannibalization from other Apple products.

Cook said:

“To me, I view it as a speed bump, not a huge issue. That said, we want to grow. We don’t like negative numbers.”

iPod sales weren’t that hot either, with sales for the category dropping by 24% down to 2.6 million.

Apple said that it will be lumping iPod sales together with “other products” (including accessories), which means that it won’t provide specific sales figures for the category in the future. The upcoming Apple Watch will also be included in the “other products” category.

This may upset investors, who prefer transparency.

However, Cook said that by bundling the Apple Watch with other products does not say anything about the company’s expectations of the product.

“It seems appropriate to start it that way,” he said. “Also, to be straight, I’m not very anxious in reporting a lot of numbers on Apple Watch and giving a lot of detail on it because our competitors are looking for it. And so aggregating it is helpful from that point of view.”

Apple shares rose by 2% ($2.09), up to $99.76 during regular trading. Apple released its latest earnings figures when markets closed, which surged the stock by 2% (after market hours).