Online Reporter
THE latest iPhones have seen “a tremendous response” across the globe, said Apple boss Tim Cook as the tech giant released its latest financial results.
Apple unveiled its thinnest iPhone, the Air, in September, along with upgraded iPhone 17 models, proving a bumper crop for the firm.
It said it expects the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s period to be a blockbuster, forecasting overall revenue to be up to 12 percent higher than the same period last year.
But Apple narrowly missed estimates for iPhone sales in its fourth quarter that ended in September, which boss Tim Cook blamed on supply constraints for several iPhone models, along with a lag in shipments to China.
Despite that, during a call with analysts, Mr Cook said Apple is heading into the holiday season “with our most powerful line up ever”.
The iPhone Air helped entice customers and boost sales.
If the company meets its sales forecast for the holiday season, it would be Apple’s “best quarter ever”, chief financial officer Kevan Parekh told analysts on Thursday.
Apple reported overall fourth quarter revenue of US$102,5 billion, topping analysts’ estimates and representing an 8 percent increase from the previous year. But iPhone revenue, specifically, came in slightly below expectations at US$49 billion.
Mr Cook stressed that global demand for iPhone 16 and 17 models has been robust, despite constraints that led to the sales miss in the recent quarter.
“We’re not predicting when the supply and demand will balance,” Mr Cook said. “We’re obviously working very hard to achieve that, because we want to get as many of these products out to customers as possible.”
In the Chinese market, he said he “couldn’t be more pleased with how things are going”, citing strong reception to the new iPhone 17.
Data from Counterpoint, a technology market research firm, showed that the first 10 days of iPhone 17 sales in the United States and China were up by 14 percent compared with sales of the iPhone 16.
The effects of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs also remain top of mind for Apple’s investors. It manufactures many iPhones in China and its global supply chain leaves it vulnerable to trade wars — though a recent meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping raised hopes for a de-escalation of tensions.
Mr Cook on Thursday told analysts that the company took a US$1,1 billion (£836 million) hit from tariffs in the recently ended quarter. He said the hit will likely amount to another US$1.4 billion in the holiday quarter as Trump imposes taxes on those whom he sees as “unfavourable” to the US economy. — Yahoo
