10 Biggest Takeaways From Apple's Earnings Call

Innovation, Innovation, Innovation

Apple CEO Tim Cook spearheaded his company's earnings call Tuesday, and gave media members and Wall Street analysts the good and the bad news about Apple's performance in the June quarter.

The Cupertino, Calif., company does not have a history of making major announcements during earnings calls, but in this particular call, there was some insight given on the thought process behind the decision to partner with IBM.

Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri repeatedly mentioned "innovation" and their plans and expectations for certain future products and services.

Here are the 10 biggest takeaways from the Apple earnings call.

No New Products? No Problem

Despite not yet releasing a new line of hardware in 2014, Apple set a new June quarter record of revenue for the company. The $37.4 billion in revenue is up 6 percent from last year's revenue of $35.3 billion. Apple also posted $7.7 billion in net income, up from $6.9 billion a year ago.

Apple's $1.28 profit per diluted share is up from $1.07 last year. It also slightly beat out analyst estimates of $1.23.

The company's earnings per share were up 20 percent year-over-year for its highest growth rate in seven quarters.

iPhone Sales Still Up

Despite new releases from some of its top competitors, and reports that the iPhone 6 is coming down the pike, the iPhone is still posting record sales.

Apple sold 35.2 million iPhones in the June quarter, up 12.9 percent from last year, setting a company record for the quarter.

The iPhone 5S, which was released last fall, is reportedly outselling Samsung's flagship phone, the Galaxy S5, which was released in April.

"iPhone sales were at the high end of our expectations despite new product rumors, that we believe resulted in purchase delay," said Maestri.

iPad Sales Down

It turns out Apple isn't immune to the shrinking tablet market.

Apple sold 13.3 million iPads in the June quarter, down 9.6 percent from last year's sales of 14.6 million. This is the second consecutive quarter of declining iPad sales.

Cook and Maestri cited a decline in established tablet markets overall. The two Apple execs did, however, point to growth in demand for the tablet in international markets.

In the January quarter of this year, 56 million tablets shipped worldwide, compared with 59 million in the year-ago quarter, according to NPD DisplaySearch, signifying the first time the tablet market decreased since the release of the iPad in 2010.

Cook's Hope For IBM Partnership

The company head stated that the declining iPad sales were an integral part of the thought process behind Apple's decision to partner with IBM.

Cook expressed his desire to increase Apple's penetration into the enterprise, and believes IBM will do just that. He stated his hope to triple the company's presence in the space, stating he believes IBM can help raise it from 20 percent to 60 percent.

"Honestly, I believe this is a huge opportunity for us," he said during the call.

Cook also sees the partnership leading to the development of more iPad-specific business-focused apps by both IBM and third-party developers.

Welcome To Macintosh

This was a surprising revelation.

Apple sold 4.4 million Macs, a growth of 18 percent from last year when the company sold 3.8 million. This was another quarter record for Apple.

Laptops drove the growth in sales, including Apple's recently released, more affordable, version of the MacBook Air. Maestri was quick to point out that the growth is impressive despite the overall decline in the PC market. He also added that Macs have gained global market share in 32 of the last 33 quarters.

Hints At Future Releases

There were multiple times throughout the call when both Cook and Maestri hinted at "innovation" and "new products."

Cook stated a couple times in the call that the iPad is in its early stages and that Apple plans to innovate the device. He also referenced on a separate occasion "a new pipeline of incredible products and services that we can't wait to show you" and expressed a similar sentiment in the earnings release.

Maestri said, "We are very excited about what we got in the pipeline," when asked about his positive September quarter prospectus.

Of course, the specifics of what those products are was not revealed.

Still No Word On iPhone 6 Or iWatch

Not exactly a surprise, as again, there were no specifics given on future innovations.

Cook, explaining his confidence in the future of the iPad due to innovations that are in the plans, was the most detail we got from him on future products.

Maestri's expressing a strong outlook for the September quarter, citing plans in the company's pipeline, may have been a bombshell confirmation that Apple has a major release planned for this quarter.

Is it the iPhone 6? An iWatch? Something else? We'll have to wait and see.

Beats Electronics Acquisition Closing

The biggest acquisition in Apple's history has somehow been lost in the headlines, since Apple's announcement of its partnership with IBM.

Cook revealed in the call that Apple plans to complete the purchase of Beats Electronics by September. He cited "talent" in the company as a key reason for the acquisition of the headphone maker, in addition to access to its popular products.

Cook added, "Music has been deeply imbedded in Apple's DNA for many, many years."

What exactly Apple plans to do with the company is unclear, but by Cook referencing Beats Electronics' talent, he believes the two companies can work together to create innovative new products and services.

Apple Ecosystem Better Than Ever

Despite all the competition out there from Google to Amazon to platforms like Netflix and music-streaming services such as Pandora, iTunes is still growing.

Apple reported $4.5 billion in revenue from iTunes Software and Services this quarter, up 12 percent from last year. In fact, iTunes Software and Services has been the fastest-growing part of the company.

iTunes billings grew 25 percent year-over-year, with $5.4 billion in revenue, an all-time record.

It was thought that the popularity of iTunes was dwindling, and that explained Apple reaching so far into its pockets to acquire Beats Electronics, but according to the numbers, iTunes has never been better.

Apple Booming In BRIC countries

Cook admitted the results in the markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China were surprising to the company, as their sales exceed its expectations.

Mac sales were up 39 percent, while iPhone sales were up 55 percent year-over-year. iPad sales were up 51 percent in China and 45 percent in India. International sales accounted for 59 percent of Apple's revenue for the quarter.

These markets continue to grow for all vendors, and Apple is definitely going after a fair share of the market.