Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

      13 June 2025

      Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

      13 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      10 red flags for Apple investors

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » In-depth » Apple investors don’t need to panic – yet

    Apple investors don’t need to panic – yet

    By Agency Staff2 February 2018
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    The iPhone X

    I have some bad news, and some probably-not-terrible news about Apple.

    The bad news was Apple didn’t have a terrific holiday season for its most important product. Apple said on Thursday that it sold 1.2% fewer iPhones in the three months ended 30 December than it did in the same period of 2016. Analysts had expected those unit sales to increase by a few percentage points or so.

    Even though Wall Street had been bracing for some weakness, and Apple’s trumpeted iPhone X was on sale for only two months of the quarter, it’s not a great sign that unit sales fell. Shares initially dipped a bit in after-hours market trading, but then recovered, in part because Apple seems poised to return piles more cash to stockholders.

    Based on early information, unit sales of iPhones aren’t likely to grow like a weed this year, but higher prices are making up the difference

    There are two points of less-bad news that should encourage investors — or at least leave them feeling the worst predictions won’t come to pass. Apple’s average sale price for each phone hit a record of US$796. That’s likely thanks to those $1 000-and-up iPhone X models. The higher price tags helped Apple’s total revenue jump 13% — more than analysts had expected.

    And better yet, it’s clear Apple’s quarter ending in March won’t be the disaster that pessimists feared. (Although it doesn’t look that great, either.)

    Apple predicted its revenue for the March quarter would be $60bn to $62bn for the March quarter. That is far lower than expectations of $66bn, according to the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

    But a feared iPhone apocalypse may not come to pass. Before Thursday, analysts thought iPhone unit sales would decline about 24% from the December to March quarters. If that holds up — and the dour holiday season sales mean those expectations may be wrong — Apple could sell about 59m iPhones in its fiscal second quarter ending in March. That would be a jump of about 16% from the same point a year earlier.

    Higher prices

    Expect some debate about the trajectory of iPhone sales in coming days. Mizuho said that Apple’s revenue guidance seems to imply 50m iPhone units sold in the March quarter. That would be roughly flat from a year ago. Apple executives said iPhone revenue would increase by a double digit percentage in the March quarter. Again, that could mean relatively flat or meek increases in iPhone device sales, but revenue would perk up because of higher prices for those smartphones.

    All in all, the picture is not terrible for Apple. Based on early information, unit sales of iPhones aren’t likely to grow like a weed this year, but higher prices are making up the difference. Revenue also rose about 11% in the region that includes China — Apple’s most important market.

    It seems Wall Street’s rethinking of Apple’s prospects in recent months were accurate. The company may not be able to sell far more phones than it ever has before, but each one is fetching a higher price. That doesn’t sound too bad, or at least it sounds pretty good now that investors are warming to this less high-flying but still steady version of Apple.  — By Shira Ovide, (c) 2018 Bloomberg LP



    Apple top
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleiPhone sales miss estimates in key holiday quarter
    Next Article GoPro continues its downward spiral

    Related Posts

    10 red flags for Apple investors

    13 June 2025

    Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

    11 June 2025

    Apple throws shade, not code, as it falls behind in AI

    10 June 2025
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.