Apple reports 7.2 per cent jump in revenues, as iPad sales enjoy rare boost

Apple has reported its financial results for Q3 2017 (the three-month period ended 1 July). The companys revenues for the quarter stood at $45.4bn (£34.3bn), up 7.2 per cent year-on-year,  while profits were up up 11.8 per cent to $8.7bn.

However, numbers were down on the last quarter – revenues by 14.2 per cent, and profits by 21 per cent – seemingly due to decreasing demand for the latest iPhone models, the 7 and 7 Plus, launched last September.

iPhone sales dropped by 19 per cent quarter on quarter, with 41m units sold, while revenues from those sales fell even more steeply, by 25 per cent – suggesting that its the more expensive models (i.e., the 7 Plus) that have seen the sharpest drop. This is a fairly natural part of the cycle, though, rather than some omen of doom for the iPhone.

The quarter was the 10th anniversary of the device and, according to CEO Tim Cook on the earnings call, Apple as sold a cumulative 1.2bn iPhones over the course of that decade.

It was a rare bit of good news for the iPad, meanwhile. Following the launch of the fifth-generation model and second-generation Pro models, iPads saw a 28 per cent growth in sales, with 11.4m units sold and revenues of $5bn.

According to Cook: “in markets like China and Japan, over half of iPads sold were to people buying their very first iPad”.

Once again, though, it was Apples Services business – which covers the likes of Apple Pay,  Apple Music and the App Store – which was the star of the earnings. With revenues of $7.3bn, it still comes a distant second to the iPhone, but has seen consistent growth – up three per cent on the last quarter, and 22 per cent year-on-year.

Sales of the Apple Watch were up 50 per cent in the quarter, though Apple still refuses to share any hard figures. The nearest we got was Cooks comment that “its the number one selling smartwatch in the world by a very wide margin”.