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Apple’s Q4 2024 revenue hit a September-quarter record—but a $10.2 billion tax charge cut reported profit

Apple set a September-quarter revenue record in fiscal Q4 2024, but reported profit fell after a one-time $10.2 billion European tax charge.
From TheFinanceBase Team4 min to read
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Apple reported record September-quarter revenue of $94.930 billion for fiscal Q4 2024, up 6% year over year. But its reported GAAP net income fell to $14.736 billion from $22.956 billion because the company recorded a one-time income-tax charge of about $10.2 billion tied to a European state-aid case.

So the headline needs a qualification: Apple set a revenue record for the September quarter, but it did not report record GAAP profit. Excluding the unusual tax charge, Apple said adjusted diluted earnings per share were $1.64, a September-quarter record.

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Apple Q4 2024 results at a glance

Apple announced the results on October 31, 2024, for the fiscal quarter that ended September 28, 2024. Apple’s fiscal fourth quarter is its September quarter; it should not be confused with the calendar fourth quarter ending in December.

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Metric Q4 FY2024 Q4 FY2023 Change
Revenue $94.930 billion $89.498 billion +6%
GAAP net income $14.736 billion $22.956 billion Down sharply
GAAP diluted EPS $0.97 $1.46 Down sharply
Adjusted net income, excluding one-time tax charge Approximately $24.982 billion $22.956 billion reported Approximately +9%
Adjusted diluted EPS, excluding charge $1.64 $1.46 +12%
Gross margin $43.879 billion $40.427 billion Higher
Gross margin percentage Approximately 46.2% Approximately 45.2% Higher

Source: Apple’s Q4 FY2024 consolidated financial statements. Adjusted figures exclude the one-time tax charge and are not Apple’s primary GAAP results.

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Why Apple called it a record quarter

Apple CEO Tim Cook described the $94.9 billion result as a new September-quarter revenue record. That wording matters. It means revenue was higher than in any previous Apple fiscal quarter ending in September; it does not mean every earnings measure reached an all-time high.

Revenue rose by $5.432 billion from the year-ago quarter. However, a quarterly revenue record can coexist with moderate growth: Apple’s 6% increase was solid at the company’s scale, but it did not by itself establish a rapid company-wide acceleration.

Which businesses produced the revenue?

Category Q4 FY2024 Q4 FY2023 Approx. change
iPhone $46.222 billion $43.805 billion +6%
Mac $7.744 billion $7.614 billion +2%
iPad $6.950 billion $6.443 billion +8%
Wearables, Home and Accessories $9.042 billion $9.322 billion -3%
Services $24.972 billion $22.314 billion +12%
Total $94.930 billion $89.498 billion +6%

Source: Apple’s consolidated financial statements.

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iPhone remained the largest category

iPhone revenue reached $46.222 billion, up 6% from $43.805 billion. Apple highlighted the iPhone 16 lineup among the products available during the quarter, but the reported figures alone do not prove that the iPhone 16 caused the entire increase.

Services grew faster than the company overall

Services revenue rose 12% to $24.972 billion, accounting for roughly 26% of quarterly revenue. The category includes businesses such as the App Store, advertising, cloud-related services, subscriptions, licensing, AppleCare and payment-related services. Apple does not report quarterly operating profit for each individual Services component in the cited materials, so Services revenue should not be described as Services profit.

Services was the fastest-growing major category in the quarter and an important reason Apple’s revenue mix continues to extend beyond hardware upgrades. It was not, however, the only source of growth: iPhone and iPad revenue also increased.

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iPad recovered, while Mac was stable

iPad revenue increased 8% to $6.950 billion, while Mac revenue edged up 2% to $7.744 billion. Wearables, Home and Accessories was the exception among the major categories, declining 3% to $9.042 billion. Apple highlighted products including Apple Watch Series 10 and AirPods 4 during the quarter.

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Why did reported profit fall?

The main explanation was a $10.246 billion one-time income-tax charge, commonly rounded to $10.2 billion. Apple recorded the charge in connection with the reversal of a European General Court state-aid decision. The company’s SEC filing provides the relevant reconciliation and legal context.

Apple’s SEC filing showed how materially the item changed the reported result:

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  • Reported GAAP net income: $14.736 billion.
  • Net income excluding the one-time tax charge: approximately $24.982 billion.
  • Reported diluted EPS: $0.97.
  • Adjusted diluted EPS excluding the charge: $1.64.

The charge was an income-tax accounting item, not an ordinary operating expense and not proof that Apple’s products suddenly became less profitable. It is also too simplistic to describe the result as Apple having paid $10.2 billion in cash during the quarter; the cited materials establish the tax charge, but do not support that shorthand cash-payment claim.

The cleanest interpretation is therefore:

  • Revenue: a September-quarter record.
  • GAAP net income and EPS: sharply lower year over year because of the unusual tax charge.
  • Results excluding that charge: stronger than the reported GAAP figures suggest, with adjusted diluted EPS of $1.64.

Regional performance

Region Q4 FY2024 net sales
Americas $41.664 billion
Europe $24.924 billion
Greater China $15.033 billion
Japan $5.926 billion
Rest of Asia Pacific $7.383 billion

Greater China remained a key investor focus. Sales there were essentially flat year over year, at $15.033 billion versus $15.084 billion in Q4 FY2023. The overall revenue record therefore did not mean that every major market was growing at the same pace.

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Full-year fiscal 2024 context

Apple’s fiscal 2024 revenue was $391.035 billion, compared with $383.285 billion in fiscal 2023. Full-year net income was $93.736 billion, down from $96.995 billion, with the annual comparison also affected by the one-time tax charge.

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That context makes Q4 easier to interpret: the September quarter closed a year of modest overall revenue growth rather than marking an unqualified earnings breakout. The quarter’s headline strength was concentrated in the record revenue figure and the underlying result after removing the unusual tax item.

Shareholder returns and cash flow

Apple’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share, with payment dates specified in the 2024 earnings announcement. Apple also said the September quarter generated nearly $27 billion in operating cash flow and allowed it to return more than $29 billion to shareholders.

Those figures describe the historical quarter and should not be treated as Apple’s current dividend or shareholder-return policy. The results were announced in October 2024, not in the current 2026 reporting period.

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What the headline gets right—and wrong

“Apple reports record Q4 2024 earnings with nearly $95 billion in revenue” is understandable shorthand for a record earnings announcement and record September-quarter revenue. It is misleading if read as saying Apple reported record GAAP net income.

A more precise summary is: Apple posted record September-quarter revenue of $94.930 billion, while a one-time European tax charge drove reported GAAP net income down to $14.736 billion; excluding that charge, adjusted diluted EPS reached a September-quarter record of $1.64.

These are historical fiscal Q4 2024 results announced on October 31, 2024. They are not Apple’s latest financial results.

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