Highlights from Apples Q4 2017 investors call

2017 is almost over, what's Apple up to? We've got the highlights from the Q4 2017 earnings call.

Apple held its quarterly earnings call today where Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri spoke with analysts about the third quarter of 2017. You can dig in deep with our full transcript of the call, or if you just want the highlights, read on!

Apple overall

• The fourth quarter was Apple's biggest ever year in most parts of the world.
• Apple's fourth-quarter sales were $52.6 billion, up 12% over last year.
• Apple's fourth-quarter net profits were $10.71 billion.
• Apple had record fourth-quarter earnings up 23% from last time this year.
• Market share overall in China is up 12% from a year ago.
• India revenue doubled year-over-year.
• Customer satisfaction rating is 97 percent or higher
• 69% of those planning to purchase a smartphone in the next 90 days said they plan to buy a new iPhone (more than five times higher than that of competing smartphones surveyed).
• In the corporate sector, for those that plan to purchase an iPhone in December, 80% plan to buy an iPhone, which is the "highest score for the iPhone in the history of the survey."
• Apple CEO Tim Cook said, "As we approach the holiday season, we expect it to be our biggest quarter ever."

Services

• Apple had an all-time high for fourth-quarter results with revenue of $8.5 billion.
• With over $30 billion in revenue, Apple's services business is as big as a fortune 100 company.
• Services grew 24% from last year.
• The App Store generates almost twice the revenue of Google Play.
• Paid subscriptions reached 210 million, up 25 million from the previous quarter.
• Apple Music subscription conversion rate (from free to paid) is the highest its ever been — up 75% since launch.
• iCloud has grown by double digits for average users per month and revenue.
• Apple's retail and online stores had 418 million customers across in the fourth quarter.
• Apple held 200,000 Today at Apple session across its retail stores.

iPhone

• iPhone revenue was $28.85 billion with 46.7 million sold compared to 45.5 million sold last year during the fourth quarter and up 3% over last year.
• iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are currently the two most popular iPhones and were so immediately after launch.
• iPhone X orders are very strong and Apple is trying to get into customer hands as soon as possible.
• iOS 11 made iOS largest platform for augmented reality (AR) with more than 1,000 apps for AR right now.

iPad

• iPad revenue was $4.83 billion with 10.3 million sold compared to 9.27 millions sold last year during the fourth quarter.
• There was a 14% growth in iPad over the previous year.
• The iPad has had its second quarter in a row of double-digit growth for the third and fourth quarter of 2017.

The Mac

• Mac revenue was $7.17 billion with 5.39 million sold compared to 4.89 units sold last year during the fourth quarter.
• The Mac line had its best year ever with the highest ever revenue in history.
• Mac business set and all-time new revenue record — up 10% over last year — fueled by demand for MacBook Pro.
• Q4 17 was the Mac's best September quarter ever with 25% growth
• Mac in education grew double-digits year-over-year.

Wearables

• Apple Watch unit growth was over 50% for the third consecutive quarter.
• Wearables in general are up 70% YOY in the fourth quarter.
• Wearables produce an annual revenue as to that of a fortune 400 company in fiscal year 2017.

iPhone X demand

On the subject of the preorder and launch of the iPhone X, Cook said, "The ramp for iPhone X is going well considering it's the most advanced iPhone we've ever created and has lots of new technology in it. We've been increasing week-by-week our output and will get iPhone to customers as soon as possible."

"We feel really great about the product lineup. We just sold the first units just a few minutes ago. Until we get enough products out there so people can demo it, anything we say right now would just be an estimate. We've never done something like this before with three iPhones and a staggered launch, so we just don't know."

iPhone X preorders compared to iPhone 8 preorders

iPhone X orders are strong for both direct orders and channel orders (carriers throughout the world). iPhone 8 Plus has gotten off to the fastest start of any Plus model.

AR success and possibilities

When asked about augmented reality, Cook said, "The reason I'm so excited about AR is that it amplifies human experience, not isolates it. AR is all over the place from shopping to gaming to business to productivity to education in the classroom and Apple is the only one that could bring this because it requires both hardware and software integration."

Cook went on to say that the launch of augmented reality for Apple products was very similar to what it was like when the company launched the first App Store in 2008.

"We're all about getting experience great. If we get the experience right, we're confident that revenue and popularity will grow."

Low-end vs. high-end sales for iPhone

When asked about the wide tier of iPhone pricing, Cook noted that the company tries to provide an iPhone that is as affordable as possible for people that want one, but may have a limited budget, that's the iPhone SE. And, now for the first time, has three high-end model iPhones for consumers to choose from.

Want more details on Apple's Q3 earnings call? Read our transcript!