Apple announced quarterly revenue of $119.6 billion, representing a 2 percent increase for the first fiscal quarter ended December 30, 2023.
The financial results mark a turnaround from four consecutive quarters of sales declines, primarily attributed to the success of the iPhone 15 lineup.
Apple’s net income saw a substantial rise, reaching $33.916 billion compared to $29.998 billion in the same period last year. The company’s total installed base of devices reached 2.2 billion, up from 2 billion a year ago.
Breaking down regional sales, Apple reported $50.430 billion vs $49.278 billion in the Americas, $30.397 billion vs $27.681 billion in Europe, $20.819 billion vs $23.905 billion in Greater China, $7.767 billion vs $6.755 billion in Japan, and $10.162 billion vs $9.535 billion in the Rest of Asia Pacific during the October-December quarter of 2023.
Despite acknowledging a “mid-single digits” decline in iPhone sales in mainland China, Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed optimism about the overall performance of the iPhone, highlighting strong double-digit growth in emerging markets outside of China, Reuters news report said.
Tim Cook in its earnings report also revealed that iPhone sales reached an all-time high in South Korea, a notable achievement in the home country of Apple’s competitor Samsung Electronics.
Counterpoint Research reported a decline in China iPhone unit shipments during the quarter, with Chinese consumers showing interest in folding phones and domestic rival Huawei, which re-entered the market with a flagship phone.
In terms of global smartphone market share, Canalys reported that Apple shipped 78.1 million iPhones, securing a 24 percent market share for the October-December quarter of 2023. Apple claimed the top position for the entire year with a 20 percent market share and 229.2 million shipments.
Apple’s success and resilience is in large part due to the increasing trend of premium devices, which now represent over 20 percent of the market, fueled by aggressive trade-in offers and interest-free financing plans, said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team.
Apple has reported $7.780 billion vs $7.735 billion in sales from Mac, indicating its resilience in the global PC market.
Apple generated $7.023 billion vs $9.396 billion from iPad, with a major decline in the global tablet market.
In the Wearables, Home, and Accessories segment, Apple generated $11.953 billion in sales, demonstrating a loss of almost $2 billion in the smartwatch market due to heightened competition.
The standout performer for Apple was its Services business, which includes Apple TV+, music, iCloud storage, and the App Store. The services segment achieved $23.117 billion in sales, marking an 11 percent growth.
Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri acknowledged that revenue in the current quarter might be lower than the previous year, considering the post-COVID boost of approximately $5 billion in sales during the same period last year. Excluding that gain, total and iPhone revenue for the March-ending quarter is expected to be similar to the previous year.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
