Without the popularity of the iPhone, things would look bleak for Apple: The good smartphone business in the past quarter compensates for weaknesses and allows sales to grow. According to the US company, the coming months could be even better.
Apple's iPhone business is resilient to economic concerns and logistics bottlenecks. Last year, the group was able to increase iPhone sales in a smartphone market that had shrunk overall. That, combined with a growing service business, more than offset declines in the company's other devices.
Overall, Apple's sales increased by 2 percent to around 83 billion dollars (81 billion euros) in the third business quarter ended in June. According to CFO Luca Maestri, even stronger growth is possible in the current quarter.
The bottom line, meanwhile, was a 10.6 percent drop in profits to $19.44 billion, as Apple announced after the US stock market closed. Analysts had expected worse numbers. The stock gained around 3 percent in after-hours trading.
iPhone sales grew to nearly $40.7 billion from $39.6 billion a year earlier. According to calculations by the analysis company Canalys, Apple was able to increase its share of the smartphone market, which had shrunk by 9 percent overall, in the past quarter thanks to good sales of the iPhone 13. Observers had suspected that consumers could hold back more when purchasing expensive Apple products.
In the service business, which includes, for example, subscription income from Apple's music and video streaming offerings and app fees, there was even more significant growth from $17.5 to $19.6 billion. Meanwhile, Mac computers and iPad tablets have declined. According to Chief Financial Officer Maestri, the supply chain problems that have been serious for a long time are decreasing.
