Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q4 behind us, let’s have a look at Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and its peers.

Consumer electronics companies aim to address the evolving leisure and entertainment needs of consumers, who are increasingly familiar with technology in everyday life. Whether it’s speakers for the home or specialized cameras to document everything from a surfing session to a wedding reception, these businesses are trying to provide innovative, high-quality products that are both useful and cool to own. Adding to the degree of difficulty for these companies is technological change, where the latest smartphone could disintermediate a whole category of consumer electronics. Companies that successfully serve customers and innovate can enjoy high customer loyalty and pricing power, while those that struggle with these may go the way of the VHS tape.

The 4 consumer electronics stocks we track reported a strong Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.2% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

While some consumer electronics stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 4.2% since the latest earnings results.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Creator of the iPhone and shepherd of the App Store, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a legendary developer of consumer electronics and software.

Apple reported revenues of $124.3 billion, up 4% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a mixed quarter. Apple’s total revenue met analysts’ expectations, but looking under the hood, we can see its Services segment outperformed. This business line helped the company beat Wall Street's operating income and EPS estimates because it has higher margins than its hardware-oriented Products segment.

“Today Apple is reporting our best quarter ever, with revenue of $124.3 billion, up 4 percent from a year ago,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

Apple scored the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates of the whole group. The stock is up 3.3% since reporting and currently trades at $245.40.

Is now the time to buy Apple? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free .

Best Q4: Sonos (NASDAQ:SONO)

A pioneer in connected home audio systems, Sonos (NASDAQ:SONO) offers a range of premium wireless speakers and sound systems.

Sonos reported revenues of $550.9 million, down 10.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5.2%. The business had a stunning quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.