Subscriptions, services and record iPhone sales carry the day for Apple

In The Spotlight

Samsung's newest Galaxy S smartphones a test of brand power in weak market

IT spending forecast to grow at slower rate this year

Microsoft makes Azure OpenAI Service generally available

PC demand dropped to its ‘lowest level in years’ in 2022

Apple dodged the brunt of COVID supply constraints that hit many Big Tech companies this quarter, mostly because of big wins in the company’s services and subscriptions business and a less-than-expected supply chain hit.

Company executives touted record iPhone sales for the quarter along with US$83 billion in revenue – up two per cent year over year despite major COVID lockdown at important suppliers in China.

Apple was able to pivot quickly and stay just under its previous warning of a US$4 billion- US$8 billion revenue hit by shifting to some manufacturers who were less affected by lockdowns.

Another big win, the company said, was in its services and subscriptions business, which rose US$19.6 billion for the quarter – up 12 per cent year-over-year and staying within analyst expectations.

“Overall, we’re very happy with the results,” chier executive Tom Cook said during a call with analysts, pointing to the services results, while also admitting that Mac shipments were extremely slowed because of logistics relating to the China COVID lockdowns.

“This quarter’s record results speak to Apples constant efforts to innovate, to advance new possibilities, and to enrich the lives of our customers,” Cook said in a statement.

“As always, we are leading with our values, and expressing them in everything we build, from new features that are designed to protect user privacy and security, to tools that will enhance accessibility… part of our longstanding commitment to create products for everyone.”

“Our June quarter results continued to demonstrate our ability to manage our business effectively despite the challenging operating environment,” Luca Maestri, Apple’s chief financial officer, said, 

Maestri added that the company generated nearly US$23 billion in operating cash flow and returned more than US$28 billion to shareholders.

Cook said it was nearly impossible to gauge demand for the new M2 line of Macs because of supply issues, but iPhone sales had reached an all-time high to coincide with the ground-breaking smartphone’s 15thanniversary.

“If you look at the June quarter, we do belive we saw macroeconomic headwinds," Cook said.

"But when you look at the product categories – on iPhone there were no obvious impacts… we feel very good about the entirety of our business,” he added