As we told you earlier today, Apple reported its fiscal fourth quarter earnings which included two records. The company reported the highest revenue ever achieved by the iPhone for any fiscal fourth quarter ever. Considering that this quarter includes September when Apple starts shipping the latest iPhone models, this record means a lot. The iPhone is Apple’s largest business segment but its second-largest business unit, Services, also did well setting a new record for revenue during any quarter.
Interestingly, after the earnings were released and Apple held its conference call for analysts and the media, both CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri pointed out that even now, more than one month after being released by Apple, delivery lead times for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max orders from Apple’s online store are hanging in around two to three weeks. Most physical Apple Stores are out of stock for the new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Per 9to5Mac, Apple CEO Tim Cook says that the lead times should start to shrink and the shortages of the premium 2023 iPhone models should come to an end before the fiscal first quarter of 2024 is over at the end of December. “We do believe that later this quarter, we’ll reach a supply-demand balance,” Cook says. If you were planning on giving someone the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max as a holiday gift, you can order it now without worrying whether it will arrive on time.
When Apple’s fiscal Q4 report was released and the conference call held, the stock plunged in after-hours trading
According to Bloomberg, also mentioned during the conference call, and the main reason why Apple’s shares tanked after hours, was a comment made by Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri about the current fiscal first quarter of 2024. This so-called “holiday quarter” is usually a good one for Apple because of the holiday shopping season. However, Maestri sees no overall year-over-year growth in revenue for the quarter which ends at the end of December.
Wall Street was expecting a 5% gain in year-over-year revenue for the quarter so the comments made by Apple’s CFO were concerning for investors. He did say that iPhone revenue will show growth during the quarter. However, Maestri warned that revenue will drop significantly during the current quarter for the iPad and Apple’s wearable unit which includes the Apple Watch and the AirPods.
Apple’s sales in China are of concern to the company as the release of Huawei’s first 5G phone in three years, the Mate 60 Pro, has electrified consumers in China. Apple’s fiscal Q4 sales in China declined 2.5% year-over-year to $15.08 billion. Some analysts were looking for Apple to report fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $17 billion in the country.
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