Apple: A Comparison of Eight Quarters of Revenue and Earnings Per Share

Apple: A Comparison of Eight Quarters of Revenue and Earnings Per Share

Earlier today I posted the financial results for Apple's most recent eight fiscal quarters comprising fiscal years 2009 and 2010. The data for fiscal year 2009 is post the retrospective adjustments that followed Apple's adoption of new accounting principles for the Apple iPhone in the first quarter of fiscal year 2010. Apple's fiscal year begins at the end of September. 

Apple's Revenue Growth By Quarter

The graph below illustrates Apple's revenue performance by quarter for the same two fiscal years. The table data associated with the graph includes the rates of year-over-year and sequential revenue growth for fiscal year 2010. In both fiscal years fourth quarter revenue exceeds first quarter revenue (the holiday quarter) due to iPhone's annual upgrade cycle and the popularity of Macintosh computers on college campuses. The sharp rise in year-over-year revenue growth in the third and fourth quarters of fiscal year 2010 reflects the revenue benefit of the Apple iPad. 

For more information on Apple's revenue mix in fiscal year 2010, please see my October blog post titled Apple's FY2010: A Retrospective. 

					Sequential
			Revenue	YOY Growth	Growth
		Q1FY2009	11,880
		Q2FY2009	9,084		-23.54%
		Q3FY2009	9,734		7.16%
		Q4FY2009	12,207		25.41%
		Q1FY2010	15,683	32.01%	28.48%
		Q2FY2010	13,499	48.60%	-13.93%
		Q3FY2010	15,700	61.29%	16.30%
		Q4FY2010	20,342	66.64%	29.57%

Apple's Earnings Per Share Growth By Quarter

The graph below illustrates Apple's revenue performance by quarter for fiscal years 2009 and 2010. The table data associated with the graph includes the rates of year-over-year and sequential revenue growth for fiscal year 2010. During fiscal 2010 earnings per share benefitted not only from the sharp rise in revenue, but also a dramatic drop in Apple's effective tax rate. The decline in gross margins during the fiscal year slightly moderated the rise in eps relative to revenue.  

For more information on Apple's costs relative to revenue in fiscal years 2009 and 2010, please see my November blog post titled Apple: A Quarterly Comparison of Costs and Cost Ratios To Revenue and my November blog post titled Apple's Profitability and the Influences of Gross Margins, Tax Rates and OpEx. 

					Sequential
			EPS	YOY Growth	Growth
		Q1FY2009	2.5
		Q2FY2009	1.79		-28.40%
		Q3FY2009	2.01		12.29%
		Q4FY2009	2.77		37.81%
		Q1FY2010	3.67	46.80%	32.49%
		Q2FY2010	3.33	86.03%	-9.26%
		Q3FY2010	3.51	74.63%	5.41%
		Q4FY2010	4.64	67.51%	32.19%

Graphs courtesy of Sandy Leitao

Robert Paul Leitao