Apple reports Q1 revenue of $111.4B, up 21% YoY, with international sales making up 64% of Q1 revenue; iPhone, Wearables, and Services set new revenue records

Revenue up 21 percent and EPS up 35 percent to new all-time records — iPhone, Wearables, and Services set new revenue records

Apple 2021-01-28

Context & Ripple Effects

Apple's Q1 result combines record iPhone, Wearables, and Services revenue with an all-time EPS high, rather than relying on a single reported category. The subsequent Q3 report's $17.4B in Services sales kept Services visible alongside iPhone revenue in Apple’s quarterly results.

The pattern continued into the following Q1, when Apple reported Services sales rising to $19.5B from $15.8B while total revenue reached $123.9B. That makes this quarter an early sign of a revenue mix in which device sales and services both matter to reported growth.

First-order effects

Apple leaves the quarter with record revenue in iPhone, Wearables, and Services, while 64% of revenue comes from international sales.
The 35% EPS increase gives Apple a record earnings result alongside its 21% revenue increase.

Second-order effects

Services’ record quarter gives Apple a second reported growth engine alongside iPhone and Wearables, a mix reinforced by its later Q3 and Q1 disclosures.
Apple’s international revenue concentration makes overseas demand central to sustaining the company’s quarterly growth comparisons.

Third-order effects

If record Services revenue continues to accompany hardware cycles, Apple’s financial performance will increasingly be judged on service monetization alongside device sales, not iPhone revenue alone.
The later divergence between growing iPhone sales and declining Mac and Wearables revenue in Apple’s 2026 Q1 results suggests that category-level mix, rather than total revenue alone, becomes more important to Apple’s growth narrative.

The trend: Apple is moving toward a more diversified revenue model in which recurring services growth can complement, but not eliminate dependence on, hardware cycles.

Discussion

@cnbc @cnbc on x
EARNINGS: Apple reports a blowout Q1, crossing the symbolic $100 billion mark in a single quarter for the first time. -EPS: $1.68, vs. $1.41 expected -Revenue: $111.44 billion, vs. $103.2 billion expected @CNBCJosh reports. https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
So Apple sold some iPhones. https://www.apple.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@benbajarin Ben Bajarin on x
Given the strength of iPhone sales this quarter, in which 5G played an important role, it is worth pointing out the record breaking iPhone quarter would not have happened if Apple had not settled the lawsuit with Qualcomm.
@adamnash Adam Nash on x
Tell me that story again where Apple $AAPL is purely financial engineering based on stock buybacks. 😂 https://www.apple.com/...
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
phone company sold a lot of phones https://www.theverge.com/...
@benbajarin Ben Bajarin on x
On where Apple's best growth prospects are short term, most headroom exists in wearables and Mac. Both are in best position to grow in a market with a lot of headroom to grow.
@jpeguin Shihab on x
$111.4B revenue this quarter. Crazy. https://www.apple.com/...
@asymco Horace Dediu on x
Q1 iPhone Sales were $65.597B up from $55.957B in the same quarter year ago
@neilcybart Neil Cybart on x
Apple says they returned over $30B to shareholders in 1Q21. That's a HUGE number. The company was trending at ~$22B per quarter of capital return. Implies a record-setting buyback pace. As Apple shares move higher, Apple is funneling an increasing amount of cash into buyback.
@howardlindzon Tiny Bubbles... on x
So glad I swapped my portfolio out of FAANG stocks two weeks aho for $BAG stocks (blackberry, Bed Bath and Beyond, AMC and Gamestop) Investing is so easy $gme $appl
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
Apple Q1, 2021 earnings are out: • iPhone up 17% 📱 • iPad up 41% ✍️ • Mac up 21%💻 • services up 24% 📈 • wearables etc up 29% ⌚ Apple posts all-time record revenue of $111.4 billion and passes $100 billion for the first time ever. Details: https://www.theverge.com/...
@mcwm Mike Murphy on x
that's so many rectangles https://twitter.com/...
@chriswelch Chris Welch on x
More from Apple's absurd Q1: Mac revenue up 21 percent, iPad up 41 percent (during a **holiday quarter**), services and wearables also up. https://www.theverge.com/...
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
Apple still lumping wearables, home and accessories together. So we really just have to assume the bump here is the purchase of USB-C chargers. https://twitter.com/...
@jsnell Jason Snell on x
Three months ago Apple execs called the third quarter a “tough compare” because iPhone sales started much earlier versus this year. That means these iPhone figures have a little extra bounce, but it's still the best iPhone growth in more than two years https://twitter.com/...
@cdespinosa Chris Espinosa on x
Just to distract you from GameStop: “Apple posted all-time record revenue of $111.4 billion, up 21 percent year over year, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.68, up 35 percent.” https://www.apple.com/...
@asymco Horace Dediu on x
Update on Apple's most important data. https://twitter.com/...
@chriskeall Chris Keall on x
Had been speculation whether Apple would be one of the first companies to clock a $110 billion quarter. Came in at $111 billion https://twitter.com/...
@jsnell Jason Snell on x
Oh yeah, the Mac! Another great quarter, up 21% year over year but revenue sequentially down a tad versus last quarter's all-time record. Still might be the second-best Mac quarter ever? https://twitter.com/...
@benbajarin Ben Bajarin on x
More than a beat. $111 b. Record iPhone sales and revenue. In an economy halted in a pandemic, with their stores closed.. Against all odds. https://twitter.com/...
@reneritchie Rene Ritchie on x
Apple says customers new to Mac and new to iPad still account for about 50%.
@iansherr Ian Sherr on x
Cook says active user base of iPhones is now more than 1 billion too. Also, AirPods, Apple Watch and HomePod Mini drove wearables growth
@caro_milanesi Carolina Milanesi on x
@reneritchie I would expect this number to accelerate considerably for Mac in 2021 thanks to the #M1
@olifranklin Oli Franklin-Wallis on x
Apple made more money this quarter than 135 of the 195 countries recognised by the International Monetary Fund make (GDP) in an entire year. https://twitter.com/...
@neilcybart Neil Cybart on x
Apple's net cash position (which management is trying to get down to zero) actually went up by $5B in 1Q21. Net cash now stands at $84B - a multi-quarter high. Said another way, Apple is having some trouble spending the excess cash on the balance sheet.
@levie Aaron Levie on x
Apple just did over $100B in revenue in a quarter. I don't understand how any ERP system supports numbers that large.
@stephennellis Stephen Nellis on x
Apple is making money faster than it can return it to shareholders. I've seen a lot of analysts wondering how sustainable this new era of 30x-plus NTM PE ratios is, but the cash generation is still there. https://twitter.com/...
@tiernanraytech Tiernan Ray on x
$8 billion better than expected and Apple is trading down by 1% after hours. // $AAPL https://twitter.com/...
@fjeronimo Francisco Jeronimo on x
. @Apple shipped 90.1 million iPhones in Q4 2020, the largest number ever shipped by any vendor in the history of the smartphones in a single quarter. Remarkable! https://twitter.com/...
@munster_gene Gene Munster on x
3) Most impressive, #iPhone growth was 17%, versus the Street at ~7%.
@fjeronimo Francisco Jeronimo on x
The best quarter ever in the history of the smartphone belongs to @SamsungMobile with 88.5 million units shipped in 2014Q1. Will @Apple beat that in 2020 Q4? #AAPL $AAPL https://twitter.com/...
@benbajarin Ben Bajarin on x
The game of figuring out iPhone unit sales has begun. We have firms saying 80m and others all the way up to 90m. https://twitter.com/...
@vladsavov Vlad Savov on x
Average handset selling price in Q4: - Apple = $728, per IDC's @fjeronimo - Samsung = $205.
@fjeronimo Francisco Jeronimo on x
. @Apple reaches all-record high sales of the iPhone in Q4 2020 and its best market share ever in the smartphone segment (23%) https://twitter.com/...
@neilcybart Neil Cybart on x
Apple saw 57% revenue growth in Greater China. Three words: iPhone 12 Pro.
@neilcybart Neil Cybart on x
Apple's iPhone installed base over the years. https://www.aboveavalon.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@caro_milanesi Carolina Milanesi on x
Interesting point from @tim_cook about the very competitive nature of the US carrier market with #5G providing a win for Apple and others smartphones vendors who will benefit from promotions. #AAPL
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
So what you're saying is... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@caro_milanesi Carolina Milanesi on x
The China #iPhone number is fascinating as it clearly says #5G helped #Apple a great deal but I would guess larger screen of the MaxPro did too. This should lift any concerns some people still had about backlash linked to the China/US relationship. https://twitter.com/...
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
The number of iPhones, iPads and Macs in use is now several hundred million larger than the number of PCs
@asymco Horace Dediu on x
It's extremely likely that in 3 years Apple will have 2 billion active devices in use.
@patrickmcgee_ Patrick McGee on x
How well is @Apple doing? The 17% gain for iPhone sales is the *worst* part of its holiday earnings report. Net income + 29% iPhone: +17% Mac: +21% iPad: +41% Wearables: +30% Services: +24% https://twitter.com/...
@asymco Horace Dediu on x
Apple results are truly stunning. I am without speech.
@denverbitcoin @denverbitcoin on x
Apple made $100,000,000,000 in revenue during Q1 fiscal 2021. That's ~$13,000 per SECOND in revenue last 90 days. They now have ~$195B in cash on hand, adding $3B to their cash reserves. $AAPL is a monster. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@michaelzimmer Michael Zimmer on x
Apple had nearly twice as much revenue from Services as selling Mac hardware. https://twitter.com/...
@asymco Horace Dediu on x
Apple revenues grew 21% year over year, and quarterly earnings up 35%.
@mikeelgan Mike Elgan on x
Number of the moment: 111.4 billion https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@apollozac Zac Hall on x
cool now buy gamestop https://twitter.com/...

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