Apple Posts a Record September Quarter - $42.1 Billion Revenue, $8.5 Billion Earnings

$AAPLApple posted another record quarter Monday, when the company announced results for the September quarter, Apple's 4th fiscal quarter. Apple had record revenue of US$42.1 billion, with record 4th quarter earnings of $8.5 billion (earnings per share of $1.42). The company said that strong iPhone, Mac and App Store sales drove both revenue and earnings.

Apple's results compare to $37.5 billion in the year-ago quarter, with $7.5 billion in profits (EPS of $1.18). Apple turned in gross margins of 38 percent, towards the high end of expectations. Apple didn't release iPhone, Mac, or App Store numbers, despite citing all three as prime drivers of revenue and earnings.

“Our strong business performance drove EPS growth of 20 percent and a record $13.3 billion in cash flow from operations in the September quarter,” Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO, said in a statement. “We continued to execute aggressively against our capital return program, spending over $20 billion in the quarter and bringing cumulative returns to $94 billion.”

The company is guiding for $63.5 billion and $66.5 billion in revenue for the December quarter, with gross margins between 37.5 percent and 38.5 percent. OpEx will be between $5.4 billion and %5.5 billion, with a tax rate of 26.5 percent.

Apple CEO Tim Cook also made it clear that Apple has new products planned for 2015, saying, “Our fiscal 2014 was one for the record books, including the biggest iPhone launch ever with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. With amazing innovations in our new iPhones, iPads and Macs, as well as iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, we are heading into the holidays with Apple’s strongest product lineup ever. We are also incredibly excited about Apple Watch and other great products and services in the pipeline for 2015.”

International sales accounted for 60 percent of Apple's revenues.

In the regular session, Apple ended the day higher at $99.76, a gain of $2.09 (+2.14 percent), on strong volume of 73.8 million shares trading hands.

Apple edged up in after-hours following the earnings announcement, as well. As of this writing, the stock was trading at $100.93, $1.17 (+1.17 percent).

Stay turned for coverage of Apple's conference call with analysts.

*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a tiny, almost insignificant share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.