Apple earnings top expectations despite economic gloom

SAN FRANCISCO, United States -Apple on Thursday said iPhone sales and money made from services powered quarterly earnings that beat forecasts despite inflation pressure and the slowing global economy.

The Silicon Valley titan reported profit of $24 billion on revenue of $94.8 billion in the first three months of this year.

“We are pleased to report an all-time record in services and a March quarter record for iPhone despite the challenging macroeconomic environment,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in an earnings release.

Sales of iPhones tallied $51.3 billion in the quarter, topping the same period a year earlier, according to earnings figures.

Analysts said this was due at least in part to the reopening of China after a long period of covid restrictions hurt economic activity.

Though Apple has made noise with its expansion into India, China remains the iPhone maker’s crucial supplier and a key market.

Apple was deeply affected by the years of Chinese covid-related closures and is only now seeing its complex supply chain returning to normal.

Overall revenues for the period declined, though this was expected and Apple’s shares were up about one percent in after-market trades.

Sales of Macs slipped to about $7.2 billion as belt-tightening around the world hit the entire personal computer market.

Shipments of Apple Mac computers, which are in the premium segment of the market, shrank more than 40 percent in the quarter, research firms IDC and Canalys have reported.

Even though iPhones have been the heart of Apple’s money-making machine, the company has made a priority of bringing in more revenue from content and services sold to users of its devices.

Apple said revenue from services stood at $20.91 billion, defying expectations that demand for streaming entertainment would fall with the end of restricted life due to the covid pandemic.