Apple posted record holiday quarter sales despite supply constraints

By Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN Business

Apple posted record revenue during the all-important holiday quarter even as it continued to grapple with supply chain shortages.

The company on Thursday reported $123.9 billion in revenue for the final months of the year, an 11% increase from the year prior, fueled by demand for its latest lineup of iPhones and other devices as well as the strength of its services business.

Apple also posted earnings per share of $2.10, better than analysts had expected.

Shares of Apple rose more than 4% in after-hours trading Thursday following the earnings results.

“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,” Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in a conference call with analysts Thursday discussing the results. “As expected in the aggregate, we experienced supply constraints that were higher than the September quarter.”

In late October, Apple said chip shortages and manufacturing disruptions tied to the pandemic had a $6 billion negative impact on its business. It also reportedly reallocated some of the chips originally planned for iPads to the iPhone to help meet demand. (Apple said its iPad revenue dropped 14% year-over-year.)

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, some of Apple’s biggest new products — including certain iPhone 13 models, some newer iPads and AirPods — experienced delays, depending on model type, colors and the shopper’s location, according to analysts and online checks conducted by CNN Business. But those delays appear to have improved.

“Overall, we do see an improvement in the March constraints going down versus what they were in the December quarter,” Cook said on the call.

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