Apple achieved a turnover of 123.9 billion dollars from October to December, well beyond market expectations (119 billion), despite a shortage of components which affects many industries starting with the manufacturers of 'electronic appliances.
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Smartphone sales topped $71 billion, driven by strong demand for the iPhone 13 lineup, particularly in China.
In all, the tech giant posted a net profit of $34.6 billion in the first quarter of its staggered fiscal year.
"The enthusiastic consumer response to our recent new product and service launches fueled double-digit revenue and profit growth, and helped us reach our all-time high in the number of active devices,"
said underlined Luca Maestri, the financial director of the Californian group, quoted in the press release published Thursday.
Apple now has 1.8 billion devices in use worldwide.
The iPhone maker's results were highly anticipated especially in light of the global shortage of semiconductors, caused by strong demand for connected devices and services and production delays at factories due to the pandemic.
"We believe that Apple sold more than 40 million iPhones during the holiday season, a record number for the Cupertino group, despite the difficulties related to the supply of electronic components"
, estimated Dan Ives, a Wedbush analyst.
Apple, like other companies, had to lower its production targets for the end of 2021, in particular for its new range of smartphones presented in September which includes four models, from the iPhone 13 Mini, marketed from $700, to the iPhone 13 Pro Max, from $1,100.
Boss Tim Cook had indicated in October that supply problems could cost $6 billion in revenue during the festive season.
He now seems more optimistic: he told the American channel CNBC that the difficulties would be
"less"
in the current quarter than in the previous one.
“So far, Apple has handled the shortage better than most companies”
, noted Yoram Wurmser, analyst at eMarketer.
The firm estimates that the group's market share will remain the same in the United States in 2022, at nearly 47%.
Apple's popularity takes off in China
In China, on the other hand, the popularity of the iPhone has taken off, to the point that Apple has once again become the country's leading smartphone seller. This is the first time in six years, according to a study by Counterpoint Research published Thursday. The American group's mobile phones represented 23% of this market in the last quarter, despite a decline in smartphone sales in general in the country (-9% over one year). On the services side, Apple recorded revenue of $19.5 billion over the past period, a jump of 24% year-on-year. It is its second activity in terms of income, far behind the iPhone, but ahead of connected accessories.
For 2022, in the United States, eMarketer predicts growth in the number of users of 3% for Apple Music, 7.5% for Apple Pay (payment) and 9.7% for Apple TV+, or 38.7 million predicted subscribers for its streaming platform, far behind Netflix (177 million), Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max (93 million).
“We believe that the services branch will have a valuation of 1.5 trillion dollars.
This annual revenue stream of some $75 billion shows no signs of slowing down,”
added Dan Ives.
