Huge iPhone sales saw Apple post equally huge profits for the past quarter, according to the firm’s quarterly earnings call.
Apple’s earning calls are always important affairs because by the time they have finished, the company is either the biggest winner of the quarter or doomed to fall apart by the same next year. Judging by the call that just happened, Apple will be just fine. Way more than fine if the numbers are to be digested properly.
The biggest news coming out of the call was always going to be iPhone sales, with this quarter being the first which had the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on sale throughout. Huge numbers were predicted and Apple duly delivered.
The overarching story is one of resounding success, with Apple reporting first quarter earnings of $74.6 billion, with a net profit of $18 billion which, it’s fair to say, isn’t to be sniffed at. When you break it all down there, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are undoubtedly the biggest reason for Apple’s success in the past quarter.
Having sold 51 million iPhones during the same quarter last year – the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c’s first full quarter on sale – Apple managed to shift 74.5 million handsets this time around. Those huge numbers once again cement the notion that many iPhone buyers were waiting for larger smartphones from the Cupertino giant before making a purchase. It’s also likely that the larger screened devices will have caused some previous Android owners to jump ship, too.
To put things into perspective how well Apple has progressed over the years in terms of iPhone sales in the same quarter, here’s the breakdown:
- Q1 2015: 74.5 million
- Q1 2014: 51 million
- Q1 2013: 47.8 million
- Q1 2012: 37.04 million
- Q1 2011: 16.24 million
Beyond the iPhone, Apple sold 21.4 million iPads – down from 26 million last year, and 5.5 million Macs – up from 4.7 million the year prior.
The results Apple has posted are considerably higher than expectations, which is no mean feat in a world where Apple is expected to break sales records left and right.
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