Apple Q4 FY25 – Core Brief Edition
1) Print to know
- Revenue: $102.5B (+8% YoY) – September quarter record
- Services: $28.8B (+15% YoY) – all-time high
- Products: $73.7B (+5% YoY)
- EPS: $1.85 – September quarter record
- FY25 revenue: $416B – all-time record
2) What drove it
- iPhone: $49B (+6% YoY) – strongest Sept. lineup ever (iPhone 17 family) despite supply constraints
- Services: broad-based acceleration (App Store, ads, cloud, payments, video)
- Mac: $8.7B (+13% YoY) – strength in MacBook Air, emerging markets
- Wearables/Home/Accessories: $9B – watch + AirPods growth, accessories tough comp
3) Geography
- September quarter records in: US, Canada, LatAm, Western Europe, Middle East, Japan, Korea, South Asia
- All-time revenue record in India
- Greater China –4% YoY → mostly iPhone supply constraints, not demand; Apple expects return to growth in Dec. quarter.
4) Margins & cash
- GM: 47.2% (top of guide) incl. $1.1B tariffs
- OpEx: $15.9B (+11% YoY) – AI + product roadmap
- OCF: $29.7B (Sept. record)
- Net cash: $34B
- Capital return in Q: $24B (buybacks + dividend)
5) December (holiday) guide
- Revenue: +10–12% YoY → best quarter ever
- iPhone: double-digit YoY → best iPhone quarter ever
- Services: grow at similar rate to FY25 (~mid-teens)
- GM: 47–48% (incl. $1.4B tariffs)
- OpEx: $18.1–18.5B (AI spend stepping up)
6) Why iPhone 17 is working
- Strongest lineup: 17 Pro (A19 Pro, camera, design), 17 (brings Pro features down), 17 Air (thin/light)
- Demand > supply on several 17 models → constraints are demand-driven, not manufacturing-driven
7) Services story
- Now $100B+ for the year (+14% YoY)
- Records in ads, App Store, cloud, music, payments, video
- Apple TV+: 22 Emmys, F1 rights in the US from 2026, F1 movie 12 Dec → keeps engagement inside Services flywheel
8) AI / Apple Intelligence
- M5 + A19 Pro = “best place to run AI” narrative
- Apple Intelligence: on-device + Private Cloud Compute; own servers now shipping from Houston
- Use cases: live translation, visual intelligence, writing tools, Image creation, fitness “workout buddy”
- Devs already using on-device foundation models → more Services upside
9) Investment phase (important for 2026 read)
- Apple is deliberately letting OpEx and capex rise (AI infra, private cloud, silicon, safety, tariffs)
- But GM expansion + mix is keeping operating leverage positive.
10) Core Brief take
Apple just closed a $416B year with Services compounding at mid-teens, iPhone still growing, and AI now tied to Apple silicon + first-party cloud. Near-term watchpoints: China normalization, iPhone supply catch-up, higher AI OpEx/tariffs — but Dec. guide says holiday demand is there.
Apple 4Q25
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