Apple’s Q1 Earnings Reveal The Biggest Quarter Ever Off Unbelievable iPhone Sales

Apple’s Q1 2015 figures came out Tuesday, and if you’re the type to get faint over record-setting fiscal figures, well, you’re kind of weird, and you may want to spend more time with your family, but you may also want to sit down. The iPhone maker just finished up most profitable quarter in corporate history. Like, ever.

Investors were eager to see what Apple’s quarterly earnings were going to look like, as Q1 2015 would mark the first full quarter that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were in circulation worldwide. While Apple has continually sold tens of millions of iPhones each quarter, some had speculated that the introduction of a long-awaited larger screened iPhone could push sales to entirely new heights.

Those speculators were proved right, as Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed today that Apple pulled in $18 billion in profit on $74.6 billion in sales. That’s up 37 percent over the same quarter last year. It also outstrips the second-most profitable quarter in corporate history by more than 10 percent. Apple’s nearest competition: Russia’s Gazprom posted a $16.2 billion profit in the first quarter of 2011.

Apple’s runaway success is mostly off the strength of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and it’s a testament to how important the iPhone has become to the Cupertino tech giant. The iPhone accounted for 69 percent of Apple’s overall revenue, with Apple moving 74.4 million iPhones in the quarter. Cook said that, over the quarter, Apple sold an average of 30,000 iPhones per hour.

Putting it in perspective, CNN notes that the iPhone alone outsold the entire television industry, which only sold 60 million televisions last quarter. The iPhone by itself outstripped the tablet industry as well, as consumers bought only 54 million tablets.

Speaking of tablets, Apple sells those, too. Of the 54 million tablet computers sold last quarter, Apple’s iPad and iPad mini models accounted for 21.4 million, or roughly 40 percent.

The iPhone stands high above just about every other device on the market in any industry right now, powering one of the most profitable companies the world has ever seen. Thanks to the iPhone’s success, Apple now has $178 billion in cash reserves right now, even though it’s done a number of stock dividends to investors over the last couple of years.

What lies ahead for Apple? The next quarter likely won’t come close to the holiday quarter, but Apple reportedly has a number of new products in store. Cook noted that consumers can expect to see the Apple Watch launching some time in April, as Apple finally makes its move into the wearable technology segment. The next few months might also see the introduction of a super-slim new MacBook Air with a radical redesign, though that is still just rumor.

[Lead image via the Independent]