During Tuesday’s third quarter 2015 earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that the App Stores, (both iOS and Mac), experienced their best quarter ever, seeing a 24% growth in revenue. The number of customers spending money also grew by 19%.
The services category, which includes the App Store, iTunes, Apple Pay, AppleCare, and other licensing/service fees, generated a record $5 billion revenue during the quarter, up from $4.5 billion during the year-ago quarter.
Apple’s iTunes Store continues to pour money into Apple’s coffers, mostly due to the popularity of the App Stores. China has played a large factor in that growth, with App Store revenue in that country more than doubling in the third quarter. Apple CFO Luca Maestri said on Tuesday that Chinese developers have created over 250,000 apps.
Apple posted quarterly revenue of $49.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $10.7 billion, or $1.85 per diluted share. That compares to revenue of $37.4 billion and net profit of $7.7 billion, or $1.28 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Apple’s gross margin was 39.7% compared to 39.4% in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 64% of the quarter’s revenue.
