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5 upbeat takeaways from Apple’s earnings call

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A rainbow Apple logo looms over a cloudy sky with the sun peeking through. The words
Wall Street isn't happy right now, but Apple sees good days ahead.
Image: Cult of Mac, based on photos by Aaron Burden and Sumudu Mohottige/Unsplash License

Apple stock price dropped over 3% after it announced the results of its most recent financial quarter. But there’s good news mixed with the bad, and that shouldn’t be ignored. CEO Tim Cook and other executives stayed upbeat in a call with investors on Thursday, talking up strong iPhone sales, why Tim loves Apple silicon and more.

Here are the reasons for optimism we found in Apple’s quarterly financial results and call.

Apple brings in record quarterly iPhone revenue

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Apple money cash
There's good news about iPhone, but less so for Mac.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The question on whether the iPhone 15 is off to a strong start has been answered. Apple just revealed that iOS handsets brought in more revenue in its most recent financial quarter than ever before.

“Today Apple is pleased to report a September quarter revenue record for iPhone and an all-time revenue record in Services,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

1 billion subscribers push Apple’s services revenue to all-time high [Updated]

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Apple logo with
Apple says more than a billion paid subscriptions pushed services revenues to an all-time high last quarter.
Photo: Goran Bogicevic/Free Stock photos by Vecteezy

The number of people subscribing to Apple services passed the 1 billion mark during the company’s most recent financial quarter, allowing that segment of the company to bring in record revenue.

But total revenue decreased slightly during the June quarter, the third time that’s happened in a row. And the money coming in from all Apple’s hardware groups is down.

Wall Street feels meh about Apple earnings, looks to future

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meh.
Yawn.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple is about to reveal the financial results of its most recent quarter, and Wall Street analysts are preparing for a whole lot of ho-hum. They’re predicting a very slight drop in revenue and earnings, during a traditionally slow time of the year for Apple sales.

That said, Apple has a habit of beating analysts’ predictions. So Thursday’s earnings call could be more upbeat than expected.

5 reasons to ignore Apple’s rare revenue dip

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Apple logo overlayed in front of a stormy sky with sun breaking through the clouds, and the text,
Despite a 3% year-to-year drop in quarterly revenue (to "only" $94.8 billion), Apple delivers plenty of reasons for optimism.
Photos: Michael & Diane Weidner and Sumudu Mohottige/Unsplash License/Modified by Cult of Mac

Perhaps the best phrase to describe the results of Apple’s most recent financial quarter is, “It could have been worse.” Total revenue dropped 3% as the company battled inflation and other macroeconomic problems not of its making.

Still, Apple’s quarterly numbers beat the overly pessimistic Wall Street estimates. And there is more good news buried in the results Apple reported Thursday (and in the company’s earnings call with investors). Read on for five reasons to be optimistic about Apple’s future.

Apple brings in robust iPhone revenue but Mac and iPad are down

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The Company posted quarterly revenue of $94.8 billion, down 3 percent year over year, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.52, unchanged year over year.
Apple posts quarterly revenue of $94.8 billion, down 3% year over year.
Photo: Alex Kalinin/Unsplash License/Modified by Cult of Mac

During the first three months of 2023, Apple’s total revenue dropped 3% year over year. iPhone was a bright spot, but revenue from virtually all of the company’s other product segments saw annual declines. CEO Tim Cook blamed the drop on a “challenging macroeconomic environment.”

While the financial news isn’t good, Wall Street had been expecting it to be even worse. AAPL is up in after-hours trading on the news.

Wall Street thinks slowing sales will hit Apple’s bottom line

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Wall Street thinks Apple is just limping along
Market watchers predict a down quarter for Apple.
Photo: Anna Nekrashevich/Pexels

Don’t expect record-breaking profits when Apple reveals its financial results from the first three months of 2023. Quite the opposite. Analysts are predicting that the company’s revenue and profits will be down when compared to the same quarter of 2022.

If true, this will be the second quarter in a row in which global problems cut into Apple’s bottom line.

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs says Apple is finally debt-free

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Apple is worth more than the entire US energy sector combined
This was a significant moment in Apple's turnaround.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

February 18: Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs says Apple is finally debt-free February 18, 2004: Steve Jobs sends an internal memo to Apple employees revealing that the company is, for the first time in years, totally debt-free.

“Today is a historic day of sorts for our company,” he writes. This marks a big turnaround from the bad old days of the 1990s, when Apple carried more than $1 billion in debt — and faced the danger of bankruptcy.

5 upbeat takeaways from Apple’s optimistic earnings call

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A rainbow Apple logo looms over a cloudy sky with the sun peeking through. The words
Wall Street might not be happy right now, but Apple sees strong growth ahead.
Image: Cult of Mac, based on photos by Aaron Burden and Sumudu Mohottige/Unsplash License

Although Apple’s December 2022 quarter was something of a disappointment, thanks to declines in revenue and profits, company executives accentuated the positives whenever possible during an earnings call with investors on Thursday.

Here are some upbeat developments coming out of Apple’s Q1 2023 financial results, including a significant milestone in active users and a big jump in iPad revenue.

Apple surpasses 2 billion active devices

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A Mac, iPhone and iPad with the words
Apple continues to woo new users and passes another milestone: 2 billion active devices as of February 2023.
Photo: Oleg Ivanov/Unsplash License

Apple’s installed base now exceeds 2 billion active devices, CEO Tim Cook said during Thursday’s earnings call. Although revenue in Apple’s first quarter fell $6.7 billion short of last year’s, the continued growth helped the company achieve what Cook called “a truly incredible milestone.”