During the summer, Apple experienced a continued decrease in sales, ultimately leading to a year of decreased revenue for the technology giant known for its consistent growth and status as the top publicly traded company in the world.

On Thursday, it was reported that there was a small decrease in sales during the July-September timeframe, which also marked the end of Apple’s fiscal year. This resulted in the company experiencing a decrease in revenue for each quarter compared to the previous year.

Even though the revenue for the last fiscal year decreased by 3% compared to the previous year, it was a significant deviation for a company that has been extremely successful. In fact, earlier this year, Apple became the first U.S. company to reach a valuation of $3 trillion, highlighting its success.

This is the initial occurrence of a decrease in Apple’s fiscal year revenue since 2019, when there was a 2% decline in sales.

According to FactSet Research, Apple’s revenue in the most recent quarter saw a 1% decrease compared to last year, totaling $89.5 billion. However, their profit increased by 11% to $22.96 billion, or $1.46 per share, surpassing analysts’ expectations.

“Our current situation involves an unpredictable macroeconomic atmosphere,” stated Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, during a conference call with analysts.

The price of Apple’s stock dropped by 3% in after-hours trading following the release of their results. While the shares have decreased by almost 10% since hitting their peak in July, they are still up by over 30% for the year. The decline in recent months has been largely influenced by concerns about declining sales and the potential for China to ban government workers from buying iPhones due to escalating tensions with the U.S. Additionally, Chinese company Huawei’s launch of new smartphones has created stronger competition for Apple.

The company based in Cupertino, California did not perform as expected in China during the last quarter. The revenue in that region saw a decrease of 2% compared to the previous year.

During a conference call on Thursday, Cook proposed that Apple is experiencing growth in the Chinese market. However, the slow economy in the country is leading consumers to limit their expenditures.

He expressed his belief that China is a highly significant market and he has a positive outlook on it.

The decline in Apple’s total revenue is mainly due to customers keeping their iPhones for longer periods of time, as newer models only have small updates. Additionally, households are still facing financial strain from high levels of inflation.

According to analyst Jesse Cohen from Investing.com, the main concern is whether this is a temporary issue or indicative of a larger change in consumer behavior. This is due to the combination of increasing interest rates and a less favorable economic climate, which may dissuade consumers from making expensive purchases.

In order to increase its revenue, Apple has recently increased the prices of some of its products. The initial cost for the newest iPhone 15 Pro Max, launched in September, is now $1,200, which is $100 higher than the previous version. Additionally, last week Apple raised the prices for various subscription services, such as its video streaming platform, resulting in a 43% increase in the monthly fee to $10.

Apple’s iPhone sales increased by 3% to $43.8 billion, indicating that the company’s newest models are being well-received as the holiday shopping season approaches.

The service division of Apple had a strong quarter, generating $22.31 billion in revenue, which is a 16% growth compared to the previous year.

A significant portion of the earnings comes from Google, who compensates Apple for their search engine to be the default choice for answering inquiries on the iPhone and Safari browser. This partnership is currently under scrutiny in an antitrust case, questioning if the collaboration between these two technology giants limits competition and progress.

During the trial, evidence has been presented showing that Google paid over $26 billion to Apple and other companies in order to have their search engine placed in a favored position in 2021. Analysts have calculated that Apple receives an average of $4-5 billion per quarter from Google, but this source of income could potentially disappear if a judge deems the payments as anticompetitive.

During the conference call, Cook was questioned about the agreements with Google and he responded by stating that they are significant and that they prioritize decisions that benefit their users.

Source: wral.com