Apple’s quarterly growth rate in the third fiscal quarter was the lowest in the last two years, with record earnings for the company in April-June.
In April-June, Apple’s revenue amounted to $35 billion, which is 23% higher than last year, but below the expected forecast of $37.5 billion (the company’s net profit is $8.8 billion, which is 21% higher than last year’s figures). At the same time, analysts predicted the stock index at $10.37, although at the end of the quarter it was only $9.32 per share.
Experts attribute such results to two factors: delayed demand for the new iPhone 5 and a shift in user demand towards cheaper devices. According to Peter Oppenheimer, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Apple, the decline in demand for the iPhone 4S before the release of the iPhone 5 repeats the situation observed last summer.
In other words, as noted in Vedomosti, referring to Evercore analyst Rob Cihra, there is a certain pattern in Apple smartphone sales at the moment: two strong and two weak quarters. Moreover, the relatively low rates of the latter are due to the fact that users are waiting for a novelty. So, according to Sire, there is nothing terrible in such a scheme. The company would be worth sounding the alarm if there were no such expectations.
Apple also said that the US market accounts for only 38% of its sales.