Apple Q4 MacBook Sales Hit Record Breaking Numbers, Jump 25 Percent

Mac sales hit 5.5 million units during Apple's fourth fiscal quarter for 2014, jumping a full 25 percent in a single quarter. Apple CEO Tim Cook said Mac marketshare is the largest it's been since 1995.

Apple's Q4 Mac sales hit a new record at 5.5 million unitsApple's Q4 Mac sales hit a new record at 5.5 million units

Mr. Cook said during the company's fourth fiscal quarter earnings report on Monday that Mac sales were up 21 percent year-over-year — a figure he called "remarkable" because the overall PC market is declining. That number is also the biggest jump the company has seen in Mac sales since 2011.

A big part of that came from back to school sales, according to Mr. Cook. He said, "The back-to-school crowd voted, and the Mac won."

Apple brought in US$42.1 billion during its fourth fiscal quarter with earnings at $8.5 billion. The company sold 39.2 million iPhones during the quarter, up year-over-year from 33.8 million units, with nine days of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales.

Just like previous quarters, Mac sales have managed to stay ahead of the game while PC sales have continued to decline. Apple has managed to gain laptop and desktop marketshare in 33 of the last 34 quarters, beating PC market growth.

Emerging markets showed strong growth, too, with 46 percent increase in Mac sales year-over-year, according to Apple CFO Lucas Maestri.

Apple's record breaking Mac sales came without a significant product upgrade during the quarter. The company's most recent big upgrade came only days ago with the introduction of the 27-inch Retina iMac, after the end of the fourth fiscal quarter.

The company is now heading into the holiday buying season where sales tend to jump, too, so we may see even more record breaking numbers in a couple months when Apple announces its first fiscal quarter numbers for 2015.