Apple reports record Services revenue for fiscal Q1 but Wall Street is not impressed،
Apple just released its results for the first fiscal quarter of 2024, and as usual, we'll first look at the company's largest business segment, the iPhone. iPhone revenue was $69.70 billion for the quarter, an increase of 6% from the $65.78 billion iPhone gross generated in the same quarter of the year last. This figure exceeds Wall Street estimates of $67.82 billion.
It was another miserable quarter for the iPad, as sales of the tablet have been declining since the pandemic ended. Additionally, Apple, for the first time since the release of the first iPad in 2010, went a full year without releasing new models. Tablet revenue was $7.02 billion in the first fiscal quarter of 2024, up from $9.40 billion a year earlier. This equates to a fairly astonishing 25% drop in device revenue. Wall Street was disappointed as analysts expected the iPad business to bring in $7.33 billion in revenue for the quarter.
The Wearables, Home and Accessories segment, which includes AirPods, HomePods and Apple Watch, saw revenue for the fiscal first quarter decline 11.4%, from $13.48 billion to $11. .95 billion dollars. Apple's second-largest business unit, Services, the subject of much controversy over the so-called “Apple tax,” had a good quarter with $23.12 billion in revenue, a unprecedented quarterly record. This is an 11.3% increase from the $20.77 billion in revenue generated by services during the first quarter of fiscal 2023. The result, strong as it was, fell below Wall Street expectations of $23.35 billion.
The Vision Pro will not be included in Apple's financial statements until the next quarter
Sales in the Americas increased by 2.3% to $50.43 billion, by 9.8% to $30.40 billion in Europe, by 15% in Japan to $7.77 billion and by 6 .6% to $10.16 billion in the rest of the Asia-Pacific market. The only geography where sales declined was China, where revenue fell 12.9% to $20.82 billion.
Overall, Apple's revenue increased 2.1% year-over-year to $119.58 billion, the first revenue increase in a year. Wall Street was looking for $117.91 billion. Net income increased 13.1% to $33.92 billion and diluted earnings per share increased 16% from a year ago to $2.18. This exceeds the $2.10 expected by Wall Street analysts.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, commenting on the results, said: “Today, Apple reported revenue growth for the December quarter, fueled by
iPhone sales and record services revenue. . We are pleased to announce that our installed base of active devices has now exceeded 2.2 billion, reaching an all-time high across all products and geographies. And as customers begin to experience the incredible Apple Vision Pro tomorrow, we are more committed than ever to pursuing groundbreaking innovation, consistent with our values and on behalf of our customers.”
During normal trading hours Thursday, Apple shares rose $2.46, or 1.33 percent, to $186.86. But after the report was released, the stock fell $2.86, or 1.53 percent, to $184.
