Apple revenue rises despite lull in global iPhone sales

2 Aug 2024

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The tech giant’s revenue hit nearly $85.8bn and iPad sales had a sudden surge, but it also suffered a drop in iPhone sales in China.

Apple has managed to beat analysts’ expectations in its latest quarter, with a revenue boost of 5pc and continued hype around its upcoming AI releases.

The tech giant reported revenue of nearly $85.8bn in its fiscal third quarter of 2024 ending 29 June, beating analyst predictions by more than $1bn according to The Guardian. Apple also saw its net income increase to more than $21.4bn compared to roughly $19.9bn in the same period last year.

Apple also managed to surpass expectations with the sale of its products, particularly the iPad which saw global sales surge by more than 23pc year on year, reaching $7.16bn in the last quarter. Apple’s iPhone sales dropped by less than 1pc to $39.3bn, but this drop was smaller than analysts predicted.

Apple beating analysts’ expectations is a positive result compared to other players in the tech sector, which have disappointed Wall Street investors this week. For example, Intel revealed plans to cut its global workforce by more than 15pc in an effort to reduce costs, after a disappointing financial quarter.

Meanwhile, there continues to be hype around Apple’s movement into the generative AI space, though Apple’s EU customers were given some bad news earlier this year. In the quarterly statement, CEO Tim Cook noted that the company revealed Apple Intelligence during the last quarter and he said this system will put “powerful, private generative AI models at the core of iPhone, iPad, and Mac”.

“We very much look forward to sharing these tools with our users, and we continue to invest significantly in the innovations that will enrich our customers’ lives, while leading with the values that drive our work,” Cook said.

The hype around Apple’s AI plans appears to have negated the impact of the company’s poor iPhone sales in China, which fell by more than $1bn compared to the same period last year. The Guardian reports that this drop was more severe than analysts expected.

Apple has been losing its dominance in China – a key market for the company – amid a massive growth in demand for Huawei smartphones. This contributed to Apple having a drop in quarterly revenue earlier this year.

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Leigh Mc Gowran is a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com