Strategy Analytics: Apple Shipped an Estimated 65.9 Million iPhones in Holiday Quarter

[MacRumors]

Apple shipped an estimated 65.9 million iPhones during the first fiscal quarter of 2019 (aka the fourth calendar quarter of 2018) according to new data shared today by Strategy Analytics.

As of this quarter, Apple is no longer providing a breakdown of unit sales of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, so we will not have concrete data on how well the iPhone is selling going forward.

Apple in Q1 2018 sold 77.3 million iPhones, which would mean Apple sold 11.4 million fewer iPhones in Q1 2019 if Strategy Analytics' estimates are correct, marking a 15 percent decline in sales year-over-year.

Global iPhone shipments fell sharply, due to high retail pricing, unfavorable foreign exchange rates, intense competition from rivals like Huawei, battery replacement programs driving longer ownership cycles, diminished carrier subsidies in some developed markets, and flagging demand in some emerging markets.

Apple's Q1 2019 iPhone revenue was $52 billion, down from $61 billion in the year-ago quarter, also a 15 percent decline. The drop in iPhone revenue led to total revenue of $84.31 billion, down from $88.3 billion in Q1 2018.

Despite the decline in iPhone sales, which Apple CEO Tim Cook has attributed to weakness in China and fewer upgrades, Q1 2019 was Apple's second-best in terms of both revenue and profit, coming in behind only the first fiscal quarter of 2018.

Article Link: Strategy Analytics: Apple Shipped an Estimated 65.9 Million iPhones in Holiday Quarter

 

[A MacBook lover]

65.9 million phones sold in the holiday quarter. How will they ever recover?

 

[Cosmosent]

Anybody with Basic Math Skills can download our "Timmy" app, & craft their own iPhone Unit estimates, & do it by Device !

Just because AAPL NO longer provides Unit Sales doesn't mean proper analysis can't be done to the per-device level.

It does, however, require that one have a good understanding of the market beforehand.

 

[9081094]

The more reason it is an embarrassing shameful fact that Apple is upping their prices and neglecting the Mac. 20 billions of profit in one quarter and Timmy telling you that he doesn’t care about numbers and that the customer comes first

I want to believe

 

[Rogifan]

And they would know this how?

 

[WannaGoMac]

Apple is going out of business.

 

[anthogag]

The way Apple presents their new stuff has become stale. The last event was very polished and a bit lame because it was what everyone expected Apple would do. The same vibe. The same feel.

 

[MhaelK]

The more reason it is an embarrassing shameful fact that Apple is upping their prices and neglecting the Mac. 20 billions of profit in one quarter and Timmy telling you that he doesn’t care about numbers and that the customer comes first

I want to believe

Of course Tim says the customer comes first, just like the cow comes first for every dairy farmer on the planet. Because Apple is milking their loyal customer base for everything they got. Next year the prices will be even higher to offset the even lower numbers sold.

 

[2GoldFish]

Let me think. What would an Apple loyalist say to this?

1. Decline in unit sale is irrelevant. (Despite iPhone sales account for majority of revenue)
2. Apple is a 'service company' now. (Despite growth in service revenue is less than decline in iPhone sale)
3. This report is fake. No one knows the answer, because Apple no longer publish unit sale.

 

[I7guy]

The more reason it is an embarrassing shameful fact that Apple is upping their prices and neglecting the Mac. 20 billions of profit in one quarter and Timmy telling you that he doesn’t care about numbers and that the customer comes first

I want to believe

Where does the revenue come from? Customers where apple put a gun to these poor slobs heads? Nobody is forcing consumers to spend a dime of their money with Apple.

At least some consumers become Apple customers in order for them to earn $84.

 

[Bawstun]

65.9 million phones sold in the holiday quarter. How will they ever recover?

15% down, and it’s the tip of the iceberg. BlackBerry RIM didn’t collapse their sales in a year. Nokia didn’t disappear overnight. Motorola didn’t vanish in a quarter or two.

15% decline is nothing to laugh at or ignore. The massive PR failures under Cook is nothing to laugh at.

 

[jazz1]

Apple is going out of business.

I hope not....or where there is a will there is a Huawei

 

[mprime_17]

So, like around 205M phones sold all the year?

That' still a LOT of iphones...

 

[sblemmy]

15% down, and it’s the tip of the iceberg. BlackBerry RIM didn’t collapse their sales in a year. Nokia didn’t disappear overnight. Motorola didn’t vanish in a quarter or two.

15% decline is nothing to laugh at or ignore. The massive PR failures under Cook is nothing to laugh at.

The problem with both BB/RIM and Nokia is that both companies were unable or unwilling to respond to significant changes in the market. Both double downed on their existing platforms and bled market share until it was too late to change course.

Apple under Tim Cook, probably more-so than under Steve Jobs, is willing to experiment with different product options to change course. I think how Cook has handled the iPad line is a good example of this. A few years ago, critics claimed the iPad was doomed due declining sales and saturation of the tablet market. However, Cook’s managed to deliver products with high ASPs to stabilize revenue, while they market the cheaper option to go after mass market.

 

[az431]

15% down, and it’s the tip of the iceberg. BlackBerry RIM didn’t collapse their sales in a year. Nokia didn’t disappear overnight. Motorola didn’t vanish in a quarter or two.

15% decline is nothing to laugh at or ignore. The massive PR failures under Cook is nothing to laugh at.

You must have selective memory because RIM dropped over 20% YOY from their peak, and it accelerated after that. Moreover, RIM’s decline was during an economic expansion. And even in its heyday, RIM never achieved the profitability of Apple.

 

[MoreRumors?]

Shipped and sold are two different thing and the same goes for estimate and actual...

 

[Williesleg]

I know a lot of people with iPhone 6 and 7's.
Same with old 32 bit iPads.

What did Apple of yesterday do different than Apple of today?

 

[smoledman]

I'm still on my iPhone 6S. Battery life is horrific, despite having battery replacement just a year ago. It means iOS 12 on anything other than the newest iPhones is horrible. Of course, Apple wants another $1000 from me. Not biting, I'll just keep it charged as often as possible. Cheaper than paying $1000 for once/day charging.

 

[newyorksole]

I know a lot of people with iPhone 6 and 7's.
Same with old 32 bit iPads.

What did Apple of yesterday do different than Apple of today?

But uhhh they’re still using iPhones. They’re still in the ecosystem. There are always going to be people with older iPhones. That doesn’t mean the new ones suck.

The technology is maturing. Things have changed a lot since iPhone 6, but some people don’t like change and also don’t want to spend money.

Apple is different now than they were 10 years ago, but that doesn’t necesssrily mean it’s a bad thing.

 

[I7guy]

15% down, and it’s the tip of the iceberg. BlackBerry RIM didn’t collapse their sales in a year. Nokia didn’t disappear overnight. Motorola didn’t vanish in a quarter or two.

15% decline is nothing to laugh at or ignore. The massive PR failures under Cook is nothing to laugh at.

The $84B Apple delivered is nothing to laugh at either. Citing BB and Nokia, two organizations that unlike Apple, didn’t change with the times is a false equivalency.

Massive PR failures are not showing in the numbers, unless one considers $84B a dismal financial failure.

 

[Baymowe335]

15% down, and it’s the tip of the iceberg. BlackBerry RIM didn’t collapse their sales in a year. Nokia didn’t disappear overnight. Motorola didn’t vanish in a quarter or two.

15% decline is nothing to laugh at or ignore. The massive PR failures under Cook is nothing to laugh at.

Apple is moving to a services company. Sure, iPhone revenue was down, but what about the 19% growth in non iPhone? iPad, Mac, Services, and wearables were up HUGE. So much that Apple reported $20B in net income, the same as last year. That means despite China absolutely falling off a cliff and a large decline in iPhone revenue, Apple was able to be JUST as profitable because of their strength in other businesses.

That’s because Apple is becoming less reliant on iPhone sales.

The installed base went from 1.3 to 1.4B over that time, including 900M iPhones. This shows people aren’t leaving. They just aren’t upgrading as fast.

The problem RIMM and Nokia had was the iPhone. There is nothing that has changed the industry, so it’s not comparable. People are keeping their phones longer, not moving away from iPhone. Those companies didn’t have the ecosystem or $100B in non iPhone revenue like Apple does.

Are you predicting Apple will lose 90% of its value like Nokia and RIMM? What is the time frame? Shouldn’t you be shorting the stock? Be specific. Don’t just throw stuff out.
[doublepost=1548817392][/doublepost]

You must have selective memory because RIM dropped over 20% YOY from their peak, and it accelerated after that. Moreover, RIM’s decline was during an economic expansion. And even in its heyday, RIM never achieved the profitability of Apple.

And it dropped so much because the industry was being disrupted by the iPhone.

What is disrupting the industry now? Pretty much market saturation, not a product Apple is missing the boat on and playing catch-up.

This is what these arm chair analysts miss in their false narratives. There is some weakness in China and iPhone in a quarter and all the sudden Apple is doomed. “Tip of the iceberg” talk and ignoring everything positive. It's comical.

 

[nfl46]

The good thing for Apple is, it’s not that the product is bad - it’s the price. All of this could change going forward if they wanted. But Timmy is money hungry, though. Hell, a $100 drop with next year gen devices will do wonders.

 

[PickUrPoison]

The good thing for Apple is, it’s not that the product is bad - it’s the price. All of this could change going forward if they wanted. But Timmy is money hungry, though. Hell, a $100 drop with next year gen devices will do wonders.

What’s the evidence for prices being too high? It can’t be the record iPhone revenue Apple recorded in regions other than China.

Cook and co. foresaw the dual-pronged problem—market saturation and the lengthening of the upgrade cycle—three to four years ago. So they came up with the strategy of adding a “super premium” tier to the lineup. The higher ASPs are compensating for the lower unit volume beautifully. It was (is) an extremely well-managed transition.

 

[BuddyTronic]

And they would know this how?

In the conference call they did say $52B of revenue came from iPhone sales, so a guess can be made I suppose.

But yeah, Apple won’t always give numbers for iPhone sales all the time anymore. Analysts stupidly focused on it and still seem blind to important stuff. I don’t know why they choose to ignore important stuff, but this will not change I don’t think.

Profit from it

 

[ZipZilla]

People aren't upgrading because they don't want the notch and miss their home button. Make a product people want and they will buy it.