Apple has managed to beat market forecasts, despite selling fewer iPhones than expected in the second quarter of 2018.
In all, the iPhone X and MacBook Pro manufacturer reported a revenue jump of 17% year-on-year, leading to a profit of $53.3 billion (around £40.6 billion). Apple reported double-digit growth in every market in operates in, aside from Japan.
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This growth came despite the company actually selling fewer iPhones than forecast. iPhone sales for the quarter grew by just 1%, but the higher retail price led by the most popular model, the £999 iPhone X, meant that Apple wound up making more money, despite shifting fewer units.
The lower than expected sales figures weren’t completely without consequence − fewer iPhones being means that Apple has dropped out of the top-two in smartphone sales for the first time in seven years.
However, the world’s most valuable company saw revenue growth of 31% from the service part of its business, which includes phone-related extras like the App Store, Apple Music, AppleCare, iTunes and Apple Pay.
For these, profits hit $11.5 billion – leaving the firm on target for Tim Cook’s aim of making services contribute $14 billion to Apple by 2020.
It’s a similar story to arch-rival Samsung, which also reported lower than expected sales of its flagship Galaxy S9 phone, but still made around £10 billion profit overall.
Related: iPhone 11 rumours
Samsung’s response to this was to promise “a new Galaxy Note earlier than usual”, offering “exceptional performance for a reasonable price.” How Apple will respond to its own stagnating phone sales will become clear in September, when the company is expected to unveil a new range of mobiles, including the iPhone 11.
Can Apple’s growth continue for another year? Let us know on Twitter: @TrustedReviews
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.