Q1 2023: No Christmas magic for Apple’s results
The consequences of the numerous crises of recent years have fallen on Apple until now, but the legendary waterproofness of the manufacturer no longer exists! With the results of the previous quarter, we already had a little taste, and the results at the end of 2022 confirm that the times are a little more difficult.
With $117.1 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter of 2022 (for Apple, it’s the first fiscal quarter of 2023), it’s hard to complain about the company! The end of the year is always a good time for Apple, which has crossed the $100 billion mark this season from 2021. But here: this turnover decreased by 5.5% compared to the first quarter of 2022.
The last three months of the year were marked by the introduction of new tablets: the iPad Pro M2, which did not fundamentally bring much to the range, the iPad 10, which at least shook the family with a strange position, as well as two new Apple TV 4K with subtle changes.
In other words: it’s not enough to stir up crazy consumer enthusiasm. The quarter also saw the launch of the iPhone 14 Plus in early October and a very rare announcement from Apple. In November, the manufacturer warned that there would be delays in the delivery of the iPhone 14 Pro. That’s bad, Christmas is a crucial period for smartphone sales…
Short
In billions of dollars.
| 1st quarter of 2023 | 1st quarter of 2022 | Evolution | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circulation | 117.1 | 123.9 | -5.5% |
| profit | 29.99 | 34.6 | -13.4% |
| iPhone | 65,775 | 71.6 | -8.1% |
| iPad | 9.39 | 7.2 | +29.6% |
| Macintosh | 7.73 | 10.8 | -28.7% |
| Services | 20.76 | 19.5 | + 6.5% |
| Other products | 13.48 | 14.7 | -8.2% |
Turnover and profit
During Q3 2022 results, Apple’s CFO Luca Maestri predicted a “slowdown” in sales, and he wasn’t wrong. In the last three months of last year, Apple achieved a turnover of 117 billion dollars, decreasing by 5% compared to the same period of 2021. With that, Apple finds itself largely within the Wall Street consensus estimate of $121.2 billion.
Profits also take a hit: of course, with $30 billion, Apple has no problems at the end of the month, which is still a rare – 13.4% decline in recent years.
iPhone sales
The iPhone clearly remains Apple’s cash cow and trump card for decorating Christmas trees. Still, not surprisingly, it did, with $65.7 billion in sales. Despite this, the turnover decreased by more than 8%.
The iPhone 14 series is popular, especially the 14 Pro in fact, and that’s fine, they’re also the most expensive. All in all, the quarter was a tough one with this warning of delivery delays, mainly due to the difficulties Foxconn was facing.
The rather disappointing result at Apple still confirms, if need be, the appeal of the iPhone lineup to consumers, though the market is getting restless.
iPad sales
iPad sales have been in the red since the start of fiscal 2022. Tablets were the big sacrifices in Apple’s catalog, with the manufacturer privileging iPhone production to the iPad’s detriment during this period of component shortages. The range got some love in the fourth quarter with the launch of the new iPad Pros and iPad 10. Enough to revive the car? Looks like a real yes!
The turnover of this activity was indeed set at $9.4 billion, which is almost 30% better than a year ago.
Mac sales
Apple had nothing new to announce in the fourth quarter to boost Mac sales—it took until January to see the new MacBook Pro and Mac mini. During the previous results, Luca Maestri warned of an air pocket, and he was right: Mac sales were down 29% on revenue of $7.7 billion. Apple therefore pays cash for not having new machines.
These gloomy sales are part of the context of a completely depressed computer market after the euphoric years of the health crisis.
Services and other products
Apple continues to reap the rewards of the “everything for services” strategy so dear to Tim Cook. In the fourth quarter, the weight of this activity was $20.7 billion, which is 6.4% more than last year (vs. 5% in the third quarter).
Is the category of other products also in good condition? Not really. With the Apple Watch Series 8/SE 2/Ultra and AirPods Pro 2 introduced at the start of the school year, as well as the two new Apple TV 4K available since October, one would think these new products would support sales. at the end of the year, it is not. That all-encompassing operation (which also includes Beats products) posted revenue of $13.5 billion, a significant decline of more than 8%.
For more
For the first calendar quarter of 2023 (i.e., Apple’s second fiscal quarter), analysts are predicting revenue of $98 billion, slightly higher than the same period last year. The manufacturer no longer gives a numerical estimate for the current quarters and the beginning of the pandemic since 2020.
