Apple closed its third quarter with record sales that are also well ahead of analysts’ expectations. Compared to the same period a year ago, there has been much more turnover in the iPhone sales category.
Apple’s revenue was $81.4 billion, according to the quarterly figures. That’s a 36 percent increase; in the same quarter a year ago, Apple was only $59.7 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $73 billion. The turnover achieved in the third quarter had never been so high.
Traditionally, revenue from the sale of iPhones in the past quarter has never been this high, partly because people are slowly starting to look forward to new models that appear later in the year. This is also apparent from the revenue from iPhone sales in the third quarter of 2020. At that time, it was still USD 26.4 billion, while it now stood at USD 39.6 billion. Apple does not report exact numbers sold.
In an oral commentary on the quarterly results, CEO Tim Cook said the iPhone 12 series is doing very well, highlighting 5G capabilities in particular as a factor that would have helped boost sales. Responding to a question from an analyst, Cook added that for the current quarter ending in September, he expects chip shortages to affect iPhone and iPad sales, though he doesn’t provide details. The Cupertino company introduced its iPhone 12 models in mid-October 2020.
Revenues from sales of Macs and iPads increased by 16.3 and 11.9 percent, respectively, to $8.2 and 7.4 billion, respectively. According to Cook, Apple’s third quarter was the best ever in Mac sales, and the iPad had its best third quarter “in nearly a decade.”
Also in the other categories, Apple consistently recorded higher sales figures compared to the third quarter of last year. The services category went from $13.2 to $17.5 billion in revenue and the Wearables, Home and Accessories category went from $6.5 to $8.8 billion. Total profit came in at $21.7 billion in the third quarter, up from $11.3 billion in the same period last year.
Looking back: video review of the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro