Apple turned in another quarter of enviable revenue and profit growth, fueled by sales of the iPhone, but more muted times may lie ahead.
在iPhone销量的帮助下,苹果再次交出令人羡慕的营收和利润成绩。但该公司未来的业绩可能会相对逊色。
The company, the world’s most valuable, on Tuesday posted a profit of $11.1 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter, up 31 percent from a year ago. Revenue was $51.5 billion, up 22 percent from last year. The results exceeded Wall Street estimates compiled by Bloomberg for earnings of $1.88 a share and $51 billion in revenue.
作为全世界市值最高的公司,苹果周二公布,第四财务季度利润111亿美元,同比上涨31%。营收515亿美元,同比增加22%。这样的结果超出了华尔街预期的每股1.88美元的收益和510亿美元的营收。华尔街的数据是由彭博(Bloomberg)整理的。
While the performance was bolstered by sales of the iPhone — the company said that it sold 48 million iPhones in the quarter, up from 39 million in the same period last year — Apple was more cautious about sales in the coming few months during the key holiday sales period.
苹果称该季度卖出了4800万部iPhone,与去年同期的3900万部相比有所增加。尽管iPhone的销量支撑了业绩表现,但接下来几个月将进入关键的假日销售期,苹果对这期间的销售数据更为谨慎。
For its fiscal first quarter, Apple said revenue would be $75.5 billion to $77.5 billion. That would be up from $74.6 billion a year earlier, but below Wall Street estimates of $77 billion at the low end.
在第一财季,苹果称营收将在755亿到775亿美元。这个数字和一年前的746亿美元相比有所增加,但仍低于华尔街预测的770亿美元下限。
The forecast follows a busy period of new product introductions for Apple. In late September, Apple introduced its newest iPhone models, the 6s and 6s Plus. It also announced a larger iPad, the iPad Pro, and will begin shipping a new Apple TV this week.
预测数据出炉前的一段时间,苹果频繁推出新产品。9月末,苹果推出了最新款的iPhone 6s和iPhone 6s Plus。此外,苹果还发布了一款屏幕更大的iPad型号iPad Pro。本周,新款Apple TV也将开始出货。
“We are heading into the holidays with our strongest product lineup yet,” Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said in a statement.
“我们正以史上最强的产品阵容进入假日季,”苹果首席执行官蒂莫西·D·库克(Timothy D. Cook)在一份声明中说。
The outlook may fuel investor questions. In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s earnings announcement, analysts had expressed concern that the iPhone 6, which came out last year, had set such a high bar for sales that customers would not upgrade to the newest models at a rate fast enough to generate significant growth.
这样的前景可能会引发投资者的疑问。在周二公布收益之前的几周,分析人士表示了担忧,认为去年推出的iPhone 6销量太高,消费者升级至最新款iPhone的速度不会太快,不能带来显著的增长。
“With the battle on in the high-end smartphone market, Apple needs to prove it still has fuel in the tank with 6s and needs to show a strong growth trajectory heading into holiday season,” Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets, said in an interview.
“在高端智能手机市场上战火熊熊之际,苹果需要用6s证明自己的油箱里还有燃料,需要表明强劲的增长可以延续到假日季,”FBR资本市场公司(FBR Capital Markets)分析师丹尼尔·艾夫斯(Daniel Ives)在接受采访时说。
The region that Apple calls Greater China remained the company’s second-largest market after the Americas, accounting for 24 percent of sales in the quarter, compared with 13.7 percent a year ago. Investors are scrutinizing the China business given that the country has been cutting interest rates to shore up a slowing economy.
被苹果称作大中华区的地区,仍是其仅次于美洲的第二大市场,贡献了24%的销量,而一年前这个比例是13.7%。考虑到中国一直在通过降息来支撑日渐放缓的经济,投资者对中国市场的表现颇为关注。
Apple said that iPad sales fell 20 percent from a year ago, making it the seventh consecutive quarter that sales of the tablet have declined. The company is increasingly positioning the iPad as a business device.
苹果称,iPad销量与一年前相比下降了20%。这是其销量连续第七个季度下跌。该公司正日益把iPad定位为商务设备。
The company did not break out sales of the Apple Watch, which debuted in April. But the category within which the watch is grouped posted $3 billion in revenue in the quarter and Apple said the device helped fuel sales. .
苹果公司未公布4月问世的Apple Watch的销量。但该产品所属类别的营收是30亿美元,且苹果称Apple Watch帮助带动了销售。
Apple also said that it would pay investors a cash dividend of 52 cents a share. Over the last few years, Apple has taken advantage of low interest rates to borrow billions of dollars that it has redistributed to shareholders in the form of dividend payments and stock buybacks.
苹果还表示将向投资者发放每股52美分的现金分红。过去几年,苹果利用低利率大量借债,并以分红和股票回购的形式将这些钱再分配给股东。