All is Well for Apple Except iPhones, Q1 Results Suggest

As iPhone sales saw a slump, the jump revenue from services and other products helped Apple.

(Photo: AP)

Apple on Tuesday, 29 January, announced the results for its first quarter of the 2019 fiscal year that ended on 29 December 2018. The company, in its release, posted a quarterly revenue of $84.3 billion, a five percent decline from last year’s numbers. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the whole quarter revenue.

The most significant change, the company posted, was in the sales of its iPhone, with a 15 percent revenue drop from last year. On the hindsight, revenue from other products and services grew at 19 percent, with services reaching an all time high of $10.9 billion.

Apart from services and iPhones, revenue from Apple’s Mac computers and Wearables, Home and Accessories also reached an all-time high, growing at 9 percent and 33 percent. Revenue from the iPad grew at 17 percent.

“While it was disappointing to miss our revenue guidance, we manage Apple for the long term, and this quarter’s results demonstrate that the underlying strength of our business runs deep and wide,” CEO Tim Cook said in the press release.

“We returned over USD 13 billion to our investors during the quarter through dividends and share repurchases. Our net cash balance was USD 130 billion at the end of the quarter, and we continue to target a net cash neutral position over time.”

Luca Maestri, CFO, Apple

Apple gave the following guidance for its second quarter of 2019 fiscal:

• Revenue between USD 55 billion and USD 59 billion
• Gross margin between 37 percent and 38 percent
• Operating expenses between USD 8.5 billion and USD 8.6 billion
• Other income/(expense) of USD 300 million
• Tax rate of approximately 17 percent