Apple Inc.'s {{ m-tag option="price" ticker="AAPL" currency="USD" }} fiscal 4Q earnings report outshined analyst forecasts, with sales and earnings per share surpassing expectations. Despite a year-over-year decline in overall sales for the fourth consecutive quarter, the tech giant reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.46, exceeding the expected $1.39, and posted revenues of $89.5 billion, slightly above the $89.28 billion forecast.

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The iPhone remained a beacon of stability, with revenues matching the anticipated $43.81 billion. However, other hardware segments, such as the iPad and Mac experienced notable declines, contributing to an overall dip in hardware sales.

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Market Reaction and Guidance:

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Post-earnings announcement, Apple shares experienced a 3% drop in extended trading, reflecting investor concerns after the company indicated potential stagnation in growth during the upcoming holiday quarter. Nonetheless, Apple's gross margin offered a silver lining at 45.2%, higher than the 44.5% market consensus.

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Looking ahead to the December quarter, CFO Luca Maestri tempered expectations, suggesting revenues may echo last year's figures despite a week less in the fiscal calendar. This cautious stance contrasts with analysts' projections of $122.98 billion in revenue, which would mark a 5% year-over-year increase.

For the full fiscal year, Apple's sales reached $383.29 billion, marking a 3% decrease from the previous year. The September quarter alone saw a revenue decline of less than 1%.

CEO Insights on iPhone Sales:

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In a standout performance, iPhone sales rose over 2% from the previous year, with the quarter including approximately one week of iPhone 15 sales. CEO Tim Cook's remarks to CNBC underscored the iPhone 15's strong start, outperforming the iPhone 14 from the same quarter of the previous year.

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The Mac and iPad sectors, however, did not fare as well, with sales plummeting by nearly 34% and 10%, respectively, year over year. Mac sales, in particular, fell short of expectations despite the launch of new MacBook Pro laptops and iMac desktops powered by the new M3 chips.

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Services Revenue Surge:

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The services sector emerged as a highlight, with revenues soaring to $22.31 billion, marking a 16% increase from the year prior, buoyed by online subscriptions and a significant deal with Google for Safari's default search engine.

The wearables division, which includes products like AirPods and the Apple Watch, contracted by over 3%. Sales in Greater China remained relatively unchanged year over year, totaling $15.08 billion.

Despite the mixed results, Apple's cash reserves stood firm at $162.1 billion. The company also announced a dividend payout of 24 cents per share and reported $25 billion in share repurchases and dividends for the quarter.
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Earnings Per Share (EPS) and Revenues:

• EPS: $1.46, above the forecast of $1.39.
• Revenues: $89.5 billion, slightly above the forecast of $89.28 billion

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