06:44 AM EDT, 11/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Apple ( AAPL ) late Thursday reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results amid higher iPhone and Mac sales, while the technology giant incurred a one-time tax charge of $10.2 billion related to a European court order in September.

Adjusted earnings came in at $1.64 per share for the three-month period ended Sept. 28. The consensus among analysts on Capital IQ was for normalized EPS of $1.60.

The result excluded the income tax charge of $10.2 billion related to a decision by the European Union's Court of Justice in September, which forced the company to pay back 13 billion euros ($14.13 billion) in taxes to Ireland. The charge dragged down Apple's ( AAPL ) net income to $0.97 a share from $1.46 in the prior-year quarter. Operating expenses rose to $14.29 billion from $13.46 billion last year.

Shares of the company were down 1.2% in Friday's premarket activity.

Apple's ( AAPL ) fourth-quarter sales increased 6% to $94.93 billion, ahead of the Street's view for $94.42 billion. Sales for the company's flagship iPhone product advanced to $46.22 billion from $43.81 billion last year, amid growth in every geographic segment, Chief Executive Tim Cook said during an earnings call, according to a Capital IQ transcript. Mac revenue inclined to $7.74 billion from $7.61 billion, while iPad rose 8% to $6.95 billion.

Wearables, home and accessories sales decreased 3% to $9.04 billion, while services climbed to $24.97 billion versus $22.31 billion last year. "Services continued to see strong momentum with the growth of our installed base of active devices setting a solid foundation for the future expansion of our ecosystem," Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said on the call.

The company recorded gains in all of its geographic segments, including the Americas, Europe and Japan, but sales in the key China market edged down to $15.03 billion from $15.08 billion in the 2023 quarter. China "should now be on a pace to show high-single-digit growth" and potentially double-digit growth as the iPhone 16 cycle plays out in the region, Wedbush Securities said in a client note.

Looking ahead, the company anticipates overall revenue to grow by low- to mid-single-digits for the December quarter, Maestri told analysts. The guidance is below the Street's forecast for growth of 7%, according to Wedbush. However, the brokerage believes that the outlook implies iPhone revenue gains of 5%, in line with market estimates.

Services revenue for the ongoing quarter is expected to rise by double digits, while gross margin is pegged at 46% to 47%, Maestri said. Gross margin was 46.2% in the September quarter.

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