Apple exceeded expectations for its fiscal Q2 2023, but the results released late Thursday were mixed. iPhone sales, services, and emerging markets were the quarter’s highlights, but Mac and iPad sales declined, and wearables seemed stagnant. Looking ahead, Apple officials predict a slight decline as long as the economic situation doesn’t deteriorate.
First, the numbers: Apple posted quarterly revenue of $94.8 billion, down 2.5% year over year with profits of $24.2 billion and earnings per share of $1.52. This was ahead of analyst expectations of $93 billion in revenue and $22.6 billion in profits. (The company noted out that if currency rates had remained constant, it would have grown revenues by 3%.)
“We are pleased to report an all-time record in services and a March quarter record for iPhone, despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, and to have our installed base of active devices reach an all-time high,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “We continue to invest for the long term and lead with our values, including making major progress toward building carbon-neutral products and supply chains by 2030.”
It seems that deferred demand for the iPhone in the wake of production problems in Q1 did indeed carry into success in the January-March quarter. With $51.3 billion in revenues, Apple set a Q2 record for the iPhone, the company said. That’s significant, given it means the company grew revenue 2% even as the wider smartphone industry shrank by 15%. Apple confirmed slowing Mac and iPad sales – though nowhere near as slow as some analysts had predicted. In terms of revenue, Mac sales fell 31% to $7.2 billion, the lowest by revenue number since 2020. That’s still a big number, but far less than some of the alarming analysis that was being widely shared in advance of the results. iPad sales declined 13%, also the lowest revenue since 2020. Apple’s wearables segment also saw a small decline, from $8.8 billion to $8.76 billion, though the company noted that two-thirds of those buying an Apple Watch were new to it.
In one interesting aside, Cook pointed out that six out of every 10 customers purchasing a Mac in China are buying one for the first time.
While the rate of growth has slowed, Apple’s services segment grew 5.5% to reach $20.9 billion, a new record. The company said it’s added 150 million paying subscribers to its services in the last 12 months, with 975 million people paying for services. Apple CFO Luca Maestri calls…
2023-05-06 12:30:03
Source from www.computerworld.com