Apple reported on Thursday that iPhone sales reached a record high in the final quarter of the previous year.
The tech giant’s revenue climbed to $144 billion during the period, fueled by increased sales in China, Europe, the Americas, and Japan.
However, other sectors within the company experienced less favorable results.
Sales of wearables and accessories, including the Apple Watch and AirPods, declined by approximately 3%. Mac computer sales fell by just over 7%.
Apple CEO Tim Cook attributed the surge in iPhone sales to the firm operating in “supply chase mode.”
“We are currently constrained in meeting a very high level of customer demand,” Cook stated during a conference call with financial analysts.
He noted that demand for the iPhone 17 “exceeded our expectations, to say the least,” and highlighted record quarterly sales in India.
Cook refrained from providing details regarding the recently announced partnership with Google, which will integrate Google’s Gemini AI into future Apple AI models and Siri updates.
Jacob Bourne, an analyst with Emarketer, suggests that the company’s ability to maintain its dominance in the smartphone market is “perhaps more uncertain than ever.”
“It has to make the most of its Google Gemini partnership to deliver Siri upgrades that make consumer voice AI relevant, seamless, and monetisible,” Bourne added.
Apple and Google also have an existing partnership for search, where Google provides the search engine capabilities for Apple’s Safari browser.
Apple plans to invest $16 billion in the upcoming fiscal year to further expand its business, including retail stores and infrastructure.
Compared to companies like Microsoft, which spent over $37 billion in capital expenditures in its most recent quarter alone, largely on AI projects, Apple’s spending appears conservative.
Wall Street investors have expressed concerns about Microsoft’s substantial AI investments without a corresponding increase in revenue.
Following the release of its quarterly results on Wednesday, Microsoft’s stock experienced a 10% decline during Thursday trading, marking its largest single-day drop since 2020.
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