Apple’s Q4 2025 Earnings: Who Drove Sales Across Major Product Categories?
On today’s post-earnings conference call, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Kevan Parekh shared some interesting insights about who drove sales across the company’s major product categories. Here’s a breakdown of their comments by product:
iPad
When discussing iPad revenue, Kevan Parekh noted that sales were flat compared to a year ago. He attributed this to a “difficult compare” against the same quarter last year, when the launch of the new iPad Air and iPad Pro models significantly boosted sales. Despite this, the iPad’s performance came in better than expected.
Parekh highlighted that the iPad install base reached an all-time high during the September quarter, setting a new record for upgraders. Interestingly, over half of the customers who purchased an iPad during the quarter were new to the product. In other words, while upgrades hit a record, the majority of iPad sales still came from first-time buyers.
Apple Watch
Apple groups Apple Watch revenue under the broader category “Wearables, Home, and Accessories,” so exact figures weren’t disclosed. However, Parekh reiterated a familiar theme from previous earnings calls: most Apple Watch sales during the quarter were to new users.
He said, “Both the Apple Watch and AirPods install bases reached new all-time highs. Over half of the customers purchasing an Apple Watch during the quarter were new to the product. And we also set a September record for upgrades on Apple Watch.”
This means, similar to the iPad, healthy Apple Watch sales came from both newcomers and upgraders. Apple frequently highlights this data to emphasize that despite the Apple Watch’s total addressable market being limited to iPhone users, the product has yet to reach an adoption ceiling.
Mac
Despite a 13% year-over-year revenue growth, Parekh spent less time discussing the Mac during the category breakdown. He did note that the Mac install base hit another all-time high, with nearly half of customers purchasing a Mac being new to the product.
This suggests that, unlike the iPad and Apple Watch, most Mac sales last quarter came from existing users upgrading their devices rather than switchers coming from Windows PCs.
iPhone
For the quarter ending September 27, iPhone generated $49 billion in revenue, up 6% compared to the same quarter last year. This increase was fairly stable, with just a 1% gain over Q4 2024.
Parekh highlighted that the iPhone active install base grew to an all-time high, and the company set a new September quarter record for upgraders. Similar to the Mac, this means most iPhone sales were driven by existing users upgrading their devices rather than new users switching from Android.
Summary
Overall, every major Apple product category saw all-time highs for their install bases during the quarter. However, the sales dynamics differed:
- iPhone and Mac: Majority of sales came from existing users upgrading.
- Apple Watch and iPad: Majority of sales came from first-time buyers.
Did you upgrade or buy an Apple product for the first time during the last quarter? Let us know in the comments below!
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