Issues in iPhone
Apple told analysts during a call that its business was slowing down this quarter, with sales of Macs and services going down. Apple iPhone powers growth but signs point to a slowdown.
Tripp Mickle wrote this.
Some tech reviewers described the sixteenth version of Apple’s iPhone, which was released in September, as an incremental improvement over earlier models. This assessment was shared by Apple.
Apple’s customers didn’t care. They purchased the brand new iPhone 14 in large numbers.
Apple, the most valuable company in the world, reported on Thursday that strong demand for iPhones helped it increase total revenue by 8% to $90.1 billion for the three months that ended in September. This marks the end of a fiscal year in which it posted sales gains in every quarter. It was reported that the company’s profits increased by nearly 1% to a total of $20.7 billion.
The company reported that sales of iPhones increased by 10%, to a total of $42.6 billion, in the quarter that ended in September. This represents a significant slowdown in comparison to the 47% increase that was reported for the same period in the previous year. Approximately half of the total revenue generated by the company comes from the flagship product.
During a call with industry analysts, Apple disclosed that the company’s business was experiencing a slowdown in the current quarter, with a deceleration in sales of Macs and services. In making note of the slowdown, it joined competitors such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft in issuing a warning that the economy’s weakness is having a negative impact on their businesses.
Despite the fact that Apple’s earnings came in higher than expected, the company’s stock fell in after-hours trading at first, but then it reversed course and increased by more than 1%, reaching $146.20. Before the market was closed, the share price had dropped by 3%.
Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple, stated that the company was experiencing inflationary pressure on wages and device components. A strengthening dollar was another factor that contributed to price increases on devices that were sold in international markets. These factors also played a role.
Apple is being touted by some analysts on Wall Street as a haven of stability for investors in this time of economic uncertainty. During a year in which sales of smartphones have decreased, Apple’s iPhone has experienced growth and gained market share. The expansion of the company’s other businesses, such as the App Store, Apple Watch, and AirPods, is also taking place, although the scale of their respective sales is not even close to that of iPhones.
Other analysts are not persuaded by this argument. They see the economic slowdown that is affecting the company’s two largest markets, the United States and China, and they are concerned that Apple will be caught up in the downturn. They forecast that sales of iPhones will decrease, just as sales of Macs and iPads have slowed down recently due to the fact that students and workers have returned to schools and workplaces.
Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst working for Bernstein Research, was quoted as saying, “Apple is human.” Even a great consumer brand like this one cannot escape the effects of the economic headwinds, which comes as no surprise.
Apple iPhone Powers Growth, But signs Point to a Slowdown
Apple unveiled a new strategy a number of years ago in an effort to counteract the slowing sales of its iPhones by accelerating the sale of software and services across all of its devices. It also launched a set of new subscription offerings, including Apple TV+ and Apple News+, as well as its own credit card.
This past quarter, the sales of the services business increased by 5% to a total of $19.19 billion, marking the lowest quarterly sales increase that has ever been recorded. It would appear that the company’s goal for this period is to prevent a slowdown comparable to the one experienced previously.
This week, it added an additional dollar to the monthly cost of Apple Music and added two dollars to the cost of Apple TV+. It also announced that it would begin charging a 30% fee on trades of non-fungible tokens across iOS devices, including iPhones and iPads, in addition to beginning to take a 30% cut of advertising payments made to boost social media posts.
Apple iPhone powers growth but signs point to a slowdown
According to Trip Miller, founder of Gullane Capital Partners, an investment firm based in Memphis, Tennessee, “To do that now, in a challenging economy, it shows that their business is strong.”
However, the most significant challenge Apple faces is with its supply chain. More than ninety percent of the iPhones that Apple sells around the world are manufactured in China, as are a significant number of the company’s iPads and Mac computers.
Apple iPhone powers growth but signs point to a slowdown
Apple estimates that the country’s stringent restrictions on coronavirus have caused it to close factories in order to suppress outbreaks, which has cost the company approximately $4 billion in lost sales of iPads and Macs. These problems reached an iPhone factory for the first time this week when Foxconn reported an outbreak of COVID-19 at its Apple assembly plant located in Zhengzhou, China. This was the first time that these problems had spread to an iPhone factory.
