Apple crosses USD 100 billion in quarterly revenue for 1st time

The iPhone business performed extraordinarily well, registering over $65 billion in revenue. 

The previous all-time record for iPhone revenue in a quarter was $61.58 billion, which Apple recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2018. 

International sales accounted for 64 per cent of the December quarter's revenue for Apple, the company said in a statement on Thursday. 

"This quarter for Apple wouldn't have been possible without the tireless and innovative work of every Apple team member worldwide," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. 

During an earnings call with investors, Cook said that Apple crossed 1.65 billion active devices worldwide during the quarter and iPhones account for over 1 billion of those devices. 

"We're gratified by the enthusiastic customer response to the unmatched line of cutting-edge products that we delivered across a historic holiday season," Cook noted in a statement. 

Apple iPad sales were up an impressive 41 per cent and Mac sales were up 21 per cent year over year. 

"Our December quarter business performance was fuelled by double-digit growth in each product category, which drove all-time revenue records in each of our geographic segments and an all-time high for our installed base of active devices," said Luca Maestri, Apple's CFO. 

"These results helped us generate record operating cash flow of $38.8 billion. We also returned over $30 billion to shareholders during the quarter as we maintain our target of reaching a net cash neutral position over time." 

Cook said that the company is also focused on how it can help the communities it is a part of, build back strongly and equitably, "through efforts like our Racial Equity and Justice Initiative as well as our multi-year commitment to invest $350 billion throughout the United States."