The calm before Christmas
This quarter is generally marked by a slight recovery compared to the previous onedue to back-to-school expenses (notably back to school). It is considered an intermediate quarter in terms of revenue, compared to the next, the strongest of the year with Christmas shopping.
Presented on September 9 but marketed on September 20, the iPhone 16 range is only counted over ten days only, including the very important launch weekend. We will have to wait until next quarter to have full figures. This same month, we are also counting on the Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 (with the new color), accompanied by AirPods 4 and a USB-C version of AirPods Max.
In terms of the overall context, we do not note no real changes : economic tensions and inflation are still present, production remains perfectly under control. Since January 1, 2019 and after the iPhone crisis, Apple no longer communicates the details of its sales, but only the turnover generated. This announcement is now to the delight of statistics and analysis firms who rely on production chains to try to break down sales according to key components.
Today, Apple reported record September quarter revenue of $94.93 billion, up 6% from a year ago. During the quarter, we were excited to announce our best products yet, with the all-new iPhone 16 lineup, Apple Watch Series 10, AirPods 4, and notable features for hearing health and hearing detection. sleep apnea. And this week, we released our first Apple Intelligence features, which set a new standard for AI privacy and will supercharge our product line as we approach the holiday season
. (Tim Cook)
Finally, Apple shows an increase in its turnover of 6.07% over one year. For this quarter, it recorded a very good turnover of 94.93 billion dollars and a profit of 0.97 dollars per share, for a total of 14.736 billion dollars. As with every quarter, it remains to be seen what the stock market's reaction will be to the opening, since the results are higher than analysts' forecasts.
A sturdy iPhone!
Over the years, there is no doubt: the iPhone remains Cupertino's flagship product, with $46.222 billion in revenue – an increase of 5.52%.. For this quarter, it accounts for just under half of revenues (i.e. 48.69% of overall turnover), but remains quite strong for this usually quite low median quarter.
To date and before the iPhone 16 range, the Apple Store catalog offered 121 possible choicesand this, over a wide range of prices ranging from 529 euros for the iPhone SE in 64GB (compared to 559 euros last year) to 1979 euros for the iPhone 15 Pro Max 1TB (compared to 2,129 euros last year for iPhone 14 Pro Max 1TB).
The delayed arrival of AI and the lack of new hardware products between 2023 and 2024 could therefore further boost iPhone sales this year. We will have to wait until the next quarter to see if Christmas saved the iPhone or not!
an iPad that starts again
For its part, the iPad continues its momentum and shows a nice increase of 7.87%, or 6.950 billion dollars in revenue. After more than 500 days without any news, Apple released an iPad Pro M4 and an iPad Air M2 last spring.
For several quarters, users have been ignoring an aging range that is now far too expensive. They were therefore waiting for a little something new, either to fall for a new model (to keep for several years) or for an older generation at prices aligned with the reality of the market and the competition.
As for the latest in the range which arrived two weeks ago (in October), the iPad Mini 7 with its A17 Pro chip and Apple Intelligence compatible will not be counted this quarter but – combined with the drop in prices of the iPad 10- this one should perhaps boost sales.
the Mac continues its momentum
Ultimately, the Mac isn't doing so badly! All models combined, Apple machines continue their small recovery that began last Christmas (with $7.744 billion collected and an increase of 1.71%), and this, undoubtedly thanks to the M3 and the promotions of the old generations of M1 and M2 – all of which are compatible with Apple Intelligence.
Moreover, if Apple's AI is blocked outside of Europe for the iPhone and iPad, with macOS 15.1 certain functions are accessible from Europe – very easily by changing the language preferences in Settings . So Apple could have chosen to favor its Macs for the launch of its AI.
Note that this quarter does not count sales the first Mac M4 released this week, namely the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 inch M4, the highly anticipated Mac mini M4 as well as the iMac M4.
strong services, gloomy wearables
Like every quarter for years, Apple Services are still very strong! They thus maintain good double-digit growth (+11.91%), or 24.972 billion dollars. For the moment, they do not seem directly impacted by the application of the DMA in Europe or the legislative changes at the beginning of the year in the USA which affected the App Store or in-app purchases.
The Wearables, Home and Accessories catch-all category is still struggling to regain momentum. At $9.042 billion, it is still down -3% for this quarter. Remember that it includes the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra as well as the AirPods Pro 2 / Max, or the HomePod mini. Finally, this category also houses Vision Pro sales.
Despite renewals, Apple's once very innovative products no longer present too many new hardware features from one generation to the nextas shown on Apple Watches. Indeed, for this 10th anniversary of the watch, many were waiting for real new features: even if the blood sugar sensor still seemed out of reach, some regret the absence of a blood pressure monitor for example or much better autonomy. We are therefore waiting for the next quarter to know the real impact of the back-to-school products (Apple Watch Series 10 and the new generation of AirPods Pro).
Mac4ever's review
On this Halloween, Apple is still posting terrifying numbers, which nothing really seems to stop. In a usually gloomy period, iPhone sales have held up and even increased! We could find several explanations: strong promotions on older generations (compatible or not with Apple Intelligence), or even a very good start for the iPhone 16 range (apparently the Pros sell really well).
For its part, the Mac is still regaining some strength, and the trend seems rather promising with this week's releases. For the next quarter, Apple could therefore boost its sales with apparently overpowering Mac M4s and finally more RAM (we no longer believed in it), a drop in prices on the MacBook Air M3 (and 16 GB of entry-level RAM) .
The iPad seems to have stopped its fall with new models and a redesigned price list (notably the iPad 10 for small budgets or college students, or the excellent iPad Pro M2 which can be found on the refurb nearby of 850€). Ultimately, Services remain Apple's other strength and continue their unfailing growth. They now weigh almost as much as Macs, iPads and Wearables combined.
However, it will be noted a shadow on the board. Indeed, in its press release, Apple qualifies its excellent results a little with this laconic but somewhat misleading sentence, diluted earnings per share were $1.64, up 12% from the prior year, excluding one-time charges recognized during the fourth quarter of 2024 related to the impact of the reversal of the decision of the European Court in matters of State aid
.
Indeed, without this correction, the figures show a drop in profit of 35.81%, if we include Apple's 12 billion euro fine (you have to write it down in accounting somewhere). But in the kingdom of Apple, the iPhone remains King and the Apple cannot tarnish its accounts with such a drop.
