Apple reported strong earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 and set a record for its Mac services and division.
The company says it earned $83.4 billion in revenue, a year-on-year increase of 29 percent.
However, fourth-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations, and the CEO attributed that to iPhone, iPad and Mac delivery bottlenecks that beat expectations.
Tim Cook said supply chain constraints had a significant impact on financial performance this quarter. He added, “Despite the delivery constraints that exceeded expectations, we estimate it will be around $6 billion, but our performance is very strong.
He attributed the supply problem to industry-wide chip shortages linked to the coronavirus and production disruptions in Southeast Asia.
Apple expects a bigger loss in the December quarter due to supply chain issues.
The company has launched several new products, including the iPhone 13 series, the new iPad mini, the 9th generation iPad, Apple Watch Series 7, the third generation of AirPods, and the MacBook Pro with Apple chips.
Apple also suffered losses due to production delays
Another iPhone wasn't released until the end of the quarter. However, the iPhone business as a whole continued to show strong momentum, reaching $38.87 billion, up 47% year over year.
In terms of services, revenue was $18.28 billion, an increase of 25.6% year over year. Other product sales rose to $8.79 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 11.5%.
iPad sales rose to $8.25 billion, up 21% from the same period last year. Mac sales were $9.18 billion, with an annual growth rate of 1.6%.
With iPhone, iPad and Mac sales soaring during the pandemic, the business is currently experiencing explosive growth. The company's annual revenue for fiscal year 2021 increased 33% from 2020 to $366 billion.
Next to the iPhone, the strongest growth in its product category is the Services segment, which includes App Store sales, music and video subscription services, advertising, and extended warranties and licenses.
Cook said Apple has 745 million paid subscriptions, including services like Apple Music and subscriptions through its App Store.
This quarter marks the first time since April 2016 that Apple fails to beat earnings expectations, and it's also the first time since May 2017 that Apple's revenue has beat expectations.
As Cook explained, like other big tech companies, Apple faces some major challenges in the supply chain. High-end iPhones can still be hard to find in the company's retail stores. Delivery of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro has also been delayed.