Apple defies consumer restraint and continues to grow. While the PC market in general is rapidly shrinking, Mac computers are more in demand than ever. In Cupertino, however, there is skepticism as to whether the successful course can be maintained.
As one of the few US technology companies, Apple's quarterly results exceeded market expectations. The electronics group owed this to a surprisingly strong demand for classic computers. The revenue generator iPhone, on the other hand, weakened, even if it remains Apple's mainstay. Revenue from the sale rose to $42.6 billion at the end of fiscal 2021/2022, the group said. This is a record value for a fourth quarter. Analysts had hoped for just under a billion dollars more. Total sales rose eight percent to $90.1 billion and earnings reached $1.29 per share. The stock was down slightly in after-hours trading after falling 5 percent.
Thanks to a new generation of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, Apple took in 11.5 billion dollars with desktop computers and laptops, a good two billion more than expected. At 43.3 percent, the gross margin is also a record value for a fourth quarter. "We performed better than expected, although exchange rate effects were a significant drag," said Apple CFO Luca Maestri. He put this at ten percent. He also pointed out that part of the boost in the computer business was due to catch-up effects. A factory that produces Mac computers had previously been idle for a long time.
Despite the strong numbers, Maestri was cautious about the future prospects. He warned of a decline in group sales for the current quarter. The company's shares fell 2 percent in after-hours trading in the US. "Apple, along with other companies, is suffering from the strains of the economic environment and ongoing supply chain problems," said analyst Jesse Cohen of online brokerage Investing.com. However, the management masters the difficulties better.
Amazon scared investors away with disappointing quarterly figures and a pessimistic outlook. This week, the software company Microsoft, the Google mother Alphabet and Meta - operators of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - had already presented weak figures.
