UPDATED 23:43 EDT / JANUARY 27 2015

Apple CEO Tim Cook NEWS

Apple hits record $74.6B first quarter revenue, most profitable public company in the world

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple Inc. yesterday announced financial results for its fiscal 2015 first quarter which ended December 27, 2014. The Cupertino, California-based tech giant posted record quarterly revenue of $74.6 billion and a record quarterly net profit of $18 billion, or $3.06 per diluted share. Compared to the year-ago quarter with revenue of $57.6 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion, or $2.07 per diluted share, a record quarter at the time, these latest numbers are staggering.

These numbers are largely due to record sales of the iPhone and Mac. The App Store also played a significant role, seeing a 50 percent increase in sales for 2014.

The iPhone alone sold 74.5 million units, setting a new record. Apple said that 65 percent of revenue for the quarter came from international sales.

Sales in China increased by 70 percent thanks to the popularity of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the region. Apple continues to expand its presence there and aims to have 40 company stores in greater China by mid-2016. iPhone sales in Singapore and Brazil also doubled over the period.

Apple’s first quarter profit of $18 billion, a record among public companies, worldwide, puts the company’s cash reserves at $178 billion. This is enough money to buy IBM or to give every American $556 according to S&P analyst Howard Silverblatt.

“Our exceptional results produced EPS growth of 48 percent over last year, and $33.7 billion in operating cash flow during the quarter, an all-time record,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “We spent over $8 billion on our capital return program, bringing total returns to investors to almost $103 billion, over $57 billion of which occurred in just the last 12 months.”

Looking ahead at the second quarter of its fiscal 2015, Apple forecast revenue between $52 billion and $55 billion with an expected gross margin between 38.5 percent and 39.5 percent.

Apple declared a cash dividend of $0.47 per share, payable on February 12 to all shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 9.

Apple shares rose around 5 percent to $114.90 in after-hours trade.

Image courtesy Apple

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