Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell short of Wall Street expectations in its fiscal fourth quarter as supply constraints for items such as iPhones, iPads and MacBook computers cost the company $6 billion in lost revenue.
Apple shares fell 3% in pre-market trading following the earnings announcement.
Despite disappointing Wall Street, Apple’s overall revenue was still up 29% in the quarter and each of its product categories grew on an annual basis.
The consumer electronics giant reported earnings per share of $1.24 U.S. versus $1.24 U.S. expected by analysts. Revenue came in at $83.36 billion U.S. compared to $84.85 billion U.S.
iPhone sales were up 47% year-over-year, but still came in below Wall Street estimates.
Apple hasn’t provided official guidance since the start of the pandemic, but the company said it expects "solid year-over-year revenue growth" in the December quarter.
The expectation of year-over-year sales growth suggests that Apple sees significantly more demand for its new iPhone 13 models than it can supply. Apple’s fourth quarter only included a few days of iPhone 13 sales as it ended on September 25.
Apple is currently in the middle of massive growth as sales of iPhones, iPads and MacBook exploded during the pandemic. Apple’s annual revenue for its fiscal 2021 was up 33% from 2020 to $366 billion U.S.
The strongest growth in Apple product categories aside from iPhones was in its services business, which includes sales from the App Store, music and video subscription services, advertising, extended warranties, and licensing. Apple’s services grew 26% annually, which was higher than the company expected.
This quarter marks the first time since April 2016 that Apple has failed to beat earnings estimates, and it’s the first time since May 2017 that Apple’s revenues have missed estimates, according to Refinitiv data.
