M1 chip drove iPad and Mac record revenue in Q4 2021, despite supply constraints

In Q4 2021, iPad and Mac’s all-time high revenue records were driven by the powerful M1 Apple Silicon. For September quarter 2021, Apple achieved $83.4 billion in revenue with 29% Y-o-Y growth. Out of total earnings, iPad revenue accounted for $8.3 billion and Mac’s revenue accounted for $9.2 billion. Apple says that iPad and Mac’s all-time revenue records are accredited to strong demand for models powered by the M1 chip.

Starting the Mac lineup’s transition from Intel processors to Apple Silicon with M1 MacBook Air, M1 MacBook Pro and M1 Mac mini models launched in 2020. Apple extended the high-performance chip to 12.9-inch iPad Pro and 24-inch M1 iMac in 2021. At the Q4 2021 earnings conference, Apple CFO Luca Maestri explained that;

For Mac, we set an all-time revenue record of $9.2 billion despite supply constraints, driven by strong demand for our M1-powered MacBook Air. In fact, our last five quarters for Mac have been the best five quarters ever for the category.

iPad performance was also strong with a September quarter revenue record of $8.3 billion, up 21% in spite of significant supply constraints as customer demand for the iPad Pro also powered by M1 was very strong. For both Mac and iPad, we continue to see a combination of high levels of customer satisfaction and first-time buyers.

Despite strong September quarter for iPad and Mac, Apple expects a decline in iPad sales revenue in the upcoming quarter

Mr. Maestri said that approximately 50% of new iPad and Mac customers were first-time buyers and study of U.S. consumers revealed 97% satisfaction with both products. He accredited high customer satisfaction with the new M1 iPad and Mac to the company’s “redesigned and reengineered both products to provide customers an unmatched experience” which is pushing the devices into the enterprise market as well.

For example, SAP has already deployed Macs to tens of thousands of their employees to date. Following the launch of our new M1 MacBook Pro last week, SAP is planning to add it to the growing list of M1 Mac offerings available to their global workforce.
Another example is France’s national railway company, SNCF, which equips all train drivers with iPads to manage their entire daily workflow and train operations, helping to lower energy and maintenance costs. In fact, the iPads have been so well received that 90% of the drivers choose to purchase them for personal use at the end of the corporate device refresh cycle.

However, moving into the next quarter, Mr. Maestri said that the company expects revenue growth for each product category, except for iPad. The supply constraints are likely to result in a year-over-year decline in iPad revenue for the December quarter.

Despite strong September quarter for iPad and Mac, Apple expects a decline in iPad sales revenue in the upcoming quarter

Rida Imran