Apple has faced difficulties to start the year. Patent lawsuits have affected the Apple Watch, the App Store has come under scrutiny from developers, and the iPhone has encountered increased competition in China. Additionally, the company was recently overtaken by Microsoft as the most valuable public company in the world.
However, Apple displayed its business strength by reporting a 2 percent rise in sales to $119.58 billion for the quarter ending in December. This was the first revenue increase for the company in a year and resulted in a 13 percent increase in profit to $33.92 billion compared to the previous year.
The results demonstrated Apple’s ability to offset a slowdown in device sales by encouraging its large customer base to purchase more apps and services, such as Apple Music. The company noted an 11 percent increase in software and services sales to $23.12 billion during the period.
Despite exceeding analysts’ expectations for $117.99 billion in sales, Apple’s shares fell about 1 percent in after-hours trading. The number of Apple devices in use globally increased by 200 million compared to the previous year, and generated interest from investors. The iPhone was the only Apple device to experience an increase in sales, with sales rising 6 percent to $69.7 billion, driven by the release of a new titanium version. However, iPad and wearable sales declined, and Mac sales remained flat.
In China, Apple faced challenges due to a slowing economy and increased competition from companies like Huawei. As a result, Apple began discounting iPhones in China to remain competitive.
In contrast to other tech giants like Microsoft and Alphabet, Apple’s growth was slower. While other companies embraced artificial intelligence, Apple focused on the release of the Vision Pro, an augmented reality headset.
Overall, despite the challenges, Apple’s financial results showcased its business resilience and potential for growth in the future.
