Apple Sales Miss Estimates on Sluggish Economy, Supply Snags

(Bloomberg) —

Apple Inc. reported a steeper sales decline in its holiday period than Wall Street feared, showing the toll of an economic slowdown and lingering supply snags.

Revenue in the fiscal first quarter amounted to $117.2 billion, the company said in a statement Thursday. That compared with Wall Street projections of about $121.1 billion. The shares fell in extended trading.

The results show that Apple hasn’t been able to dodge the tech slowdown afflicting many of its competitors. Demand for smartphones and computers has slumped in the past year, and Covid-19 restrictions in China added to Apple’s woes during the holiday sales period. Timing was another issue: The company didn’t launch new Macs and HomePods until recent weeks, missing the end of the first quarter.

Earnings came in at $1.88 per share, compared with an average estimate of $1.94 per share. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant didn’t provide a revenue outlook for the second quarter, continuing an approach it adopted at the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020.

Read more: How Apple timed the launch of its new Macs, HomePod

Apple shares had closed up 3.7% at $150.82 in New York. They have gained 16% this year.

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook cited a “challenging environment” in the statement. “We remain focused on the long term,” he said.

Apple generated $65.8 billion from its flagship product, the iPhone, missing the estimate of $68.3 billion. That also represents a decline the $71.6 billion that the product brought in a year earlier. While the latest iPhone was a more significant leap than the previous version, the factories producing the popular Pro models in China were shuttered for several weeks during the quarter due to pandemic restrictions.

The company made $7.74 billion from the Mac, well short of the $9.7 billion estimate. That’s also a significant drop from $10.9 billion a year ago.

It was a tough year-over-year comparison given that Apple launched a revamped MacBook Pro line in the previous holiday period. This time around, it didn’t update the MacBook Pro and Mac mini models until the current quarter.

(Updates with product sales in seventh paragraph.)
By Mark Gurman

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

summer melt
From Freshmen to Founders: Michigan Students Take on Higher Ed’s Summer Melt Crisis with MeetYourClass
May 29, 2025

A growing number of colleges are struggling to convert applicants into enrolled students—and to keep them engaged through graduation. With Gen Z students relying heavily on familiar digital platforms like Instagram and Discord for social interaction, traditional college tools for orientation, enrollment, and community-building often miss the mark. According to research, between 10 to 40…

Read More
Aviation maintenance
The Future of Flight Depends on Mechanics, Not Machines: How Jets MRO is Solving the Aviation Maintenance Talent Gap
May 28, 2025

Private aviation is booming—but behind the sleek jets and luxury cabins lies a hidden crisis. A looming shortage of qualified aviation maintenance technicians threatens to ground growth. According to Boeing’s 2023 Pilot and Technician Outlook, the industry will need about 690,000 new maintenance technicians by 2042. While private jet usage is skyrocketing, the infrastructure to…

Read More
digital learning ecosystem
Stride at 25: Redefining the Digital Learning Ecosystem for Today’s K–12 Learners
May 28, 2025

As virtual learning matures and school choice accelerates across the U.S.,the 25th anniversary of Stride Inc. offers a moment to reflect on how far the digital learning ecosystem has come and where it’s headed.. Once known as K12 Inc., the company helped pioneer online education at scale. But in a landscape shaped by evolving…

Read More
search
From Search (SEO) to Answers with Generative AI
May 27, 2025

In this episode of The Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma—founder of Spark Novus, which partners with marketing leaders to adopt AI responsibly and strategically—hosts Mike Ensing, Founder and CEO of Revere AI. They explore how LLMs are revolutionizing search, shifting the customer journey, and forcing a new marketing playbook where brand discovery is increasingly…

Read More