Apple holiday quarter sales forecast beats Wall Street’s
APPLE Inc has forecast sales for the crucial holiday shopping quarter that beat Wall Street expectations, chief executive Tim Cook saying new iPhone 11 models were off to ‘‘a very, very good start’’ as sales of AirPods, Apple Watches and streaming services continue to rise.
The outlook reaffirms Mr Cook’s strategy to remake a company that consistently depended on iPhone sales for well over half its revenue to one that depends on services and wearables. Since 2017, Mr Cook has had to implement the strategy while also shepherding Apple through a trade dispute between two of its most important markets, the United States and China.
Apple said it expected $US85.5 billion ($NZ133 billion) to $US89.5 billion in sales for its fiscal first quarter, which ends in December, with a midpoint of $US87.5 billion, which is above analyst expectations of $US86.9 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Apple shares rose about 3% to $US250.70 in afterhours trading after the results.
In an interview with Reuters, Mr Cook said the revenue guidance was based on strong sales of services and wearables, as well as promising early sales for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max released in September. Mr Cook said the forecast also reflected the company’s belief the United States and China would resolve their trade dispute.
‘‘I don’t know every chapter of the book, but I think that will eventually happen,’’ Mr Cook told Reuters.
‘‘I certainly hope it happens during the quarter, but we’ll see about that.’’
The forecast comes as Apple said it generated $US33.36 billion in iPhone sales in its fiscal fourth quarter ended in September, which compares with analyst expectations of $US32.42 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
The results mark the fourth straight quarter of yearoveryear declining iPhone sales as the Cupertino, Californiabased company tries to shift its business away from reliance on the flagship product and towards a broader product mix.
But the aboveexpectations forecast for the holiday shopping quarter — traditionally Apple’s biggest sales quarter of the year — suggested that Apple’s price cuts on many iPhones were helping it regain momentum. — Reuters