Despite beating
analysts’ estimates, Apple saw revenue from iPhone sales decline by 9% over the past year. During its fiscal fourth quarter, that added up to about $33 billion, according to the tech
titan’s latest earnings report.
Partly as a result of softening iPhone revenue, CEO Tim Cook is putting more emphasis on services and wearables. He credited growth in services and
wearable sales (up 54% year-over-year) for driving revenue during the period.
“We concluded a groundbreaking fiscal 2019 with our highest [fourth quarter] revenue ever, fueled by
accelerating growth from services, wearables and iPads,” Cook stated on Wednesday.
Along with strong Apple Watch sales, Apple’s wireless AirPods have proven to be a hit with
consumers. Doubling down on the little earbuds, Apple just debuted the AirPods Pro, which retail for $250 a pair.
During its fiscal fourth quarter, Apple said revenue from services surpassed
$12.5 billion, while revenue from accessory sales topped $6.5 billion.
Likely bolstering its healthy services business, Apple is also about to debut Apple TV+ -- a subscription-based
video-on-demand Web television service.
More broadly, Apple posted quarterly revenue of $64 billion, which represented a 2% increase, year-over-year. International sales accounted for 60% of
the quarter’s revenue.
Still, some analysts don’t approve of Apple’s strategy of selling cheaper iPhones in order to boost sales. “IPhone revenues were in-line, but we
believe [average selling prices] were weaker,” according to Barclays’s Tim Long.
Among other new offerings, Apple recently debuted the iPhone 11, which retails for $699.
Looking ahead, Apple said it expects strong holiday sales. For its fiscal 2020 first quarter, the company is forecasting revenue between $85.5 billion and $89.5 billion.
Complicating
Apple’s outlook, Chinese officials are reportedly expressing doubts about their ability to reach a trade deal with the United States.