iPhone sales surprised
Apple defies gloomy industry trend
05/04/2023 11:46 p.m
A pick-up in demand for smartphones gives Apple a quarterly result that exceeds market expectations. Although sales of the US electronics group fell by three percent. However, analysts had feared a minus that would be almost twice as high.
Apple has ended the second consecutive quarter with a decline in sales. The main trigger was a decline in sales of Mac computers and iPad tablets, while iPhone sales grew. Overall, sales in the second business quarter fell by three percent to 94.8 billion US dollars (86 billion euros) by the end of March, as Apple announced after the market closed. However, analysts had feared a minus that would be almost twice as high. The bottom line was a profit of 24.15 billion dollars, after around 25 billion dollars in the previous year.
The iPhone business grew 1.5 percent to $51.33 billion. We’re seeing records in the number of iPhones being used across all geographic regions,” said CEO Tim Cook. Demand in emerging markets like Brazil, India and Mexico was particularly strong. Lockdowns at Chinese factories have slowed demand, leading to pent-up demand over the past quarter, while industry-wide smartphone sales have slumped.
Sales of Mac computers fell by a good 31 percent to $7.17 billion. Computer sales had recently shrunk significantly after the boom at the beginning of the corona pandemic. According to calculations by the market research company IDC, PC sales fell by 29 percent across the industry in the past quarter. Apple was particularly hard hit with a drop of a good 40 percent to 4.1 million. iPad sales also fell significantly, while the services business hit a record $20.9 billion. Apple shares rose 0.7 percent in after-hours trading. Group sales in the past quarter exceeded analysts’ expectations.