Apple Reports $8.5B Profit for Q4 2014, Fueled by Strong iPhone and Mac Sales

Apple this afternoon released its financial report for Q4 2014 ahead of a media event elaborating on the numbers, and the numbers themselves were as big as expected in the wake of evidence of impressive iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales. All total, the company reported $42.1 billion in revenue (with 60 percent of it coming from international markets), which amounts to an impressive $8.5 billion in profits. What's more, that's up considerably from the $37.5 billion Apple reported last year.

As expected, the iPhone stole the numbers show, as sales of Apple's handsets amounted to 39,3 million units for the quarter. But the Mac was still the surprise wonder here, as it moved an impressive 5.5 million units during the same period. Deep back-to-school discounts from August are thought to have much to do with the unusually strong Mac sales, which shattered the existing record from 2011 when Apple moved 4.9 million units.

Source: AppAdvice

The iPad, however, continued its stark sales decline. At this time last year, the tablet moved 14.1 million units, but only 12.3 million iPads made their ways into the hands of customers this year. That makes Q4 2014 the third quarter in a row with a slump in sales of the device.

Other sales were up, as Apple CEO Tim Cook reported during the call proper. iTunes revenue, for instance, was up 22 percent for a total revenue of $5.4 billion; and the company broke another record with sales at its retail stores, which brought in $5.1 billion for an increase of 15 percent from last year.

Cook believes that Apple Pay, officially launched today with iOS 8.1, will push sales even higher in the future.

"We think we will sell more devices, because we think it's a killer feature," Cook said. "We see Apple Pay as an incredible service that is the most customer-centric mobile payment system that there is. We’re very proud of it and we can’t wait to sign up more retailers and extend it around the world.”

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