Sales decrease slightly
Apple’s iPhone sales are weakening
08/04/2023 02:28 am
Apple’s cash cow does not deliver as usual: in the past quarter, the iPhone sold worse than expected, only on the Chinese market there was double-digit growth. Overall, the record in Cupertino is better than predicted.
A surprisingly strong services business saved Apple’s balance sheet. Despite the weakening iPhone sales, the electronics group presented quarterly results above market expectations. At the same time, he is pumping billions into the future technology of generative artificial intelligence (AI). “We have been researching a wide range of AI technologies for years,” said company boss Tim Cook. “We will continue to invest, innovate and develop our products responsibly.”
For this reason, spending on research and development rose by a good three billion to $22.61 billion year-on-year. Stockbrokers are eagerly awaiting news about the AI “Apple GPT”, which the company is developing according to media reports. Speculation about this had lifted Apple shares to a record high a few weeks ago. In the field of generative AI, the Microsoft holding OpenAI with ChatGPT and Google with “Bard” have so far been ahead.
In addition to AI applications, the recently introduced “Vision Pro” data glasses could also push the boundaries of the business model, said analyst Jeremy Goldman from the research house Insider Intelligence. Apple competes with Meta’s “Quest 3” model. However, at around $3,500, the product with the apple logo is many times more expensive than the Facebook parent’s data glasses.
Licensing revenue increases
Things didn’t go too smoothly for Apple’s most important product, the iPhone, in the past quarter. Sales revenue fell short of expectations at $39.67 billion. According to Cook, one ray of hope was the double-digit percentage increase in sales in an overall shrinking Chinese market. More users there would have switched to the iPhone than ever before. In addition, numerous existing customers resorted to newer devices. More iPhones are currently active worldwide than ever before. However, Cook did not give any figures on this.
The services division was pleasantly surprised, praised analyst Jesse Cohen from the finance portal Investing.com. Thanks to increasing license income, their sales are the highest in the company’s history at $21.21 billion. The AppleTV+ streaming service also belongs to the division. However, group sales fell to $81.8 billion. However, the minus of 1.4 percent was less than feared. Net profit exceeded expectations at 19.88 billion. For the current quarter, Apple announced stagnant revenues. The stock then fell 2.3 percent in after-hours trading in the US.