--- description: The tech giant's latest earnings report beat expectations. title: Apple Breaks Earnings Record With Strong iPhone Sales image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0832bde7cbec330a/69886e61bc6cfc19113da1a4/apple-store-logo.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Earnings](/tag/earnings/) ## Earnings Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Apple Breaks Earnings Record With Strong iPhone Sales by [Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 27, 2015 9:04 PM CUT  An Apple Store in New York City. An Apple Store in New York City.Eric Thayer—Getty Images by [Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 27, 2015 9:04 PM CUT Apple reported record fourth quarter earnings of $1.96 per share on revenue of $51.5 billion, driven—once again—by strong iPhone sales. The results beat but did not blow past expectations. The stock rose more than 2.75% in after hours trading. “Fiscal 2015 was Apple’s most successful year ever, with revenue growing 28% to nearly $234 billion. This continued success is the result of our commitment to making the best, most innovative products on earth, and it’s a testament to the tremendous execution by our teams,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are heading into the holidays with our strongest product lineup yet, including iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, Apple Watch with an expanded lineup of cases and bands, the new iPad Pro and the all-new Apple TV which begins shipping this week.” “Apple’s record September quarter results drove earnings per share growth of 38% and operating cash flow of $13.5 billion,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “We returned $17 billion to our investors during the quarter through share repurchases and dividends, and we have now completed over $143 billion of our $200 billion capital return program.” By the numbers: — Revenue: $51.5 billion, up 22.3% — iPhone: 48.05 million, up 22.3% — iPad: 9.883 million, down 19.8% — Mac: 5.71 million, up 3.4% — Services: $5.09 billion, up 10.3% — Other products: $3.05 billion, up 104.6% — Gross margin: 39.9%, up from 38% — Revenue guidance: $75.5 to $77.5 billion — GM guidance: 39% to 40% The earnings call with analysts is scheduled to start at 5 pm ET (2 pm PT) Links: [Apple press release](http://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-reports-record-fourth-quarter-203000140.html "undefined") and [Apple’s earnings call](http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/15pijbsdfvpiqhb10/event/ "undefined"). _This_ [_article_](http://fortune.com/2015/10/27/apple-beats-expectations-stock-pops/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_Fortune.com_](http://www.fortune.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4089762/apple-earnings-q4-2015/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4089762/apple-earnings-q4-2015/"},"headline":"Apple Breaks Earnings Record With Strong iPhone Sales","datePublished":"2015-10-27T21:04:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:07:30.322Z","description":"The tech giant's latest earnings report beat expectations","url":"https://time.com/4089762/apple-earnings-q4-2015/","keywords":["Earnings","Apple","Companies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0832bde7cbec330a/69886e61bc6cfc19113da1a4/apple-store-logo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0832bde7cbec330a/69886e61bc6cfc19113da1a4/apple-store-logo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An Apple Store in New York City.","caption":"An Apple Store in New York City.","creditText":"Eric Thayer—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/earnings/","name":"Earnings"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4089762/apple-earnings-q4-2015/","name":"Apple Breaks Earnings Record With Strong iPhone Sales"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The evolution of the iPhone","description":"Since Apple released the iPhone in 2007, there have been 8 versions of the now-iconic smartphone. Fortune shows you how the iPhone became a global sensation.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/sNcwFOG5/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-09T14:42:33.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sNcwFOG5.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4089762/apple-earnings-q4-2015/","duration":"PT1M43S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4089762/apple-earnings-q4-2015/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```