iPhone sales let down Apple, the quarter is down. It was supposed to be a bearish fiscal quarter for Apple, and bearish it was. For the first time, indeed, in years now the numbers show a minus sign compared to almost all the data of 2022 and it is even worse than the already negative forecasts.
Apple has stopped signing iOS 16.2, rolling back from iOS 16.3 is no longer possible
This is what emerges from the presentation of the financial results for the first quarter of the 2023 fiscal year (which coincides with the last calendar year of 2022 for Apple), during which the American company announced a quarterly turnover of 117.2 billion dollars , versus $123.9 billion last year and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.88 versus $2.10 in 2022. Analysts had forecast revenue of $121 billion and earnings of $1.94 per share
It was essentially the iPhone crisis that weakened profits, as expected. For some time now there have been no specific unit data, but the turnover has dropped significantly, going from 71.63 billion dollars to 65.75 billion. As is well known, Apple has been affected in the availability of iPhones by the continuous lockdowns of Chinese factories, but another aspect should not be underestimated either: the increase in the average price in the face of not sensational news of Apple devices.
Another factor to take into consideration is the almost proven failure of the strategy that led to the cancellation of the iPhone mini to give life to the iPhone 14 Plus. Apple does not provide any data but it has been known for some time that there has been talk of reducing the production of this model which would have had the welcome expected.
According to data compiled by IDC Apple would have sold 14.9% less than last year. A little better than the global smartphone market (-18.3% less), but still not much for a company that has been used to breaking all previous records.
The figure of 71.63 billion in revenue for the iPhone is also below the forecasts of analysts who set sales at 68.3 billion.
Mac turnover collapses: 7.7 against 10.85 billion in 2022; but when you consider the disaster looming globally in the PC space and the fact, in the end Apple shouldn’t be too worried. However, even here we are below the analysts’ estimates of turnover.
Surprisingly enough, iPad sales rise again (9.39 against 7.5 billion in 2022). This happens despite the fact that we are talking about a line that apart from processors is aging and where we find new models that have not aroused everyone’s enthusiasm
The services are stagnant. Here Apple has been growing steadily and in great strides for many years, year on year and quarter on quarter; the increase is also there for the quarter just ended but modest (20.76 against 19.52). Analysts had predicted the figure attributing it at least in part to the strength of the dollar which reduced turnover and profits.
Even the “other products” segment, which includes Beats products, AirPods, Apple Watches and other minor products, shows a decline; here Apple which reach 13.48 billion (last year they were 14.70 billion). In any case, we are well ahead of the turnover of Macs and even higher than the turnover of iPads.
In any case, Tim Cook prefers to think positive: «while we continue to navigate in a difficult context, we are happy to have the best line of products and services ever. We remain focused on the long term guided by the values we bring to everything we do. During the December quarter we reached an important milestone – we are happy to announce that we have 2 billion active devices as part of our installed base which continues to grow»
