Recently, Apple released its fourth quarter performance report.
Data shows that as of September 30, 2023, in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2023, Apple's revenue was $89.498 billion, lower than the same period last year's $90.146 billion. This is also the fourth consecutive quarterly year-on-year decline in company sales, the longest duration since 2001, resulting in an overall 3% year-on-year decline in the fiscal year 2023.
From a product perspective, iPhone revenue was $43.805 billion, accounting for approximately 48.9% of overall revenue, an increase of approximately 3% compared to $42.626 billion in the same period last year, and remains the mainstay of Apple's revenue.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the performance meeting: "iPhone revenue exceeded expectations and set a quarterly record in September, including Brazil, Canada, France, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, the United States, Vietnam and other regions."
Cook told reporters that in the Greater China market, the impact of exchange rates is close to six points, and even amidst fluctuations, Apple is still growing. Four of the top five smartphones in sales in urban areas of China are iPhones. The performance of the iPhone 15 series is better than that of last year's iPhone 14 series, especially the higher priced Pro and Pro Max series products, and there has even been a shortage of supply.
Regarding whether the imbalance between supply and demand will affect the upcoming "promotional season," Apple CFO Luca Maestri told analysts, "We expect the Pro and Pro Max models to return to supply and demand balance from today until the end of this quarter
Today, Apple's 56th Apple Store store in Greater China has officially opened, located in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, and is also the fourth Apple store in Zhejiang. Cook stated at the performance meeting that China remains a very important market in the future and remains optimistic.
Although India is classified as the rest of the Asia Pacific region based on financial report data, Apple stated that it has set an all-time high revenue record in the Indian region and has a growth rate of more than double digits.
Apple's market share in the Indian market is not high, so it has a lot of growth potential. However, the product unit price (ASP) in the Indian market is not high, and the profit space it can provide is limited. This is also a new challenge for Apple, whose products are mainly focused on high-end pricing.
When asked about their views on the development of the Indian market, Cook replied, "I haven't paid any attention to ASP, but I believe India's ASP is lower than the global market. In terms of similarity, each country's market has its own unique development pattern. There are many people in India entering the middle class, and distribution channels are constantly expanding, which are positive factors. The market is still in a very early stage, but its performance is currently better than expected
Due to the growth of the replacement cycle, second-hand iPhones have also become an undeniable market.
According to data previously released by IDC, the global shipment of second-hand smartphones, including official refurbished smartphones, will reach 282.6 million units in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 11.5%. It is expected to reach 413.3 million units by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3% from 2021 to 2026.
Regarding this part of the market, Luca Maastri told reporters that Apple has noticed the extension of the product lifecycle and is very concerned about the daily usage of users in the Apple ecosystem, and is seeking to provide paid services for this group of users to improve profit margins.
According to report data, Apple's revenue in paid services was $22.314 billion, an increase of approximately 16.3% year-on-year in the same quarter last year, and an increase of approximately 9.1% year-on-year in the entire fiscal year.
Excluding the iPhone, other hardware revenue such as the Mac, iPad, and wearable/smart home have all experienced varying degrees of decline, especially with Mac revenue only reaching $7.614 billion, a 34% decrease compared to the previous period.
Cook stated at the performance meeting that this was due to factory shutdowns last year, leading to supply disruptions and difficulties in resuming supply, resulting in a backlog of demand for iPads and Macs. This year, Apple is very confident in the Mac lineup equipped with M3 series chips.
Luca Maastri also revealed at the performance meeting the achievements of Apple's Mac and iPad product lines in the enterprise market.
He said, "Starbucks continues to choose to collaborate with Apple, equipping tens of thousands of iPads in retail stores to improve customer experience, and placing orders for 10000 MacBook Air offices for their store managers; nearly half of the employees of Go To, Indonesia's largest technology company, use Macs for office work
Apple's investment areas mainly focus on manufacturing factories and their tools and equipment, data centers, and retail stores. On the supply chain side, Apple advocates globalization and is currently investing and adjusting the structure of the supply chain worldwide.
In response to analysts' questions on the supply chain side, Cook replied, "Apple's supply chain in the United States is mainly focused on advanced manufacturing, such as a joint venture with Corning in glass, Face ID facial recognition modules, and semiconductors
Several Apple devices, including the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, have adopted machine learning technology, which, along with AI, is considered a fundamental technological capability by Apple. However, Apple has not yet announced its own research and development progress in AIGC.
Cook told analysts, "Apple still has a lot of work to do in terms of AIGC, which cannot be disclosed yet, but we have indeed invested a lot in AIGC. These technologies will be the core of future product advancements
According to financial report data, Apple's investment in research and development in the fourth quarter reached $7.307 billion, an increase of approximately 8.1% year-on-year. The annual investment was $29.915 billion, an increase of approximately 14% year-on-year.