Apple’s iPhone 14 Sales Rise Slightly, Pushing Through Lackluster Economy

Apple’s iPhone sales rose 10% as consumers snatched up the new iPhone 14 ahead of a rocky holiday shopping season, marked by an uncertain global economy and nagging inflation. 

The three months of Apple’s fiscal fourth quarter included the launch of its new £399 Apple Watch Series 8, updated £249 AirPods Pro, and newly announced £799 Apple Watch Ultra. The biggest release though was the iPhone 14 series of phones, starting at £799.  The company said it tallied £42.6 billion in iPhone sales, up from £38.9 billion the same time a year earlier. 

All told, Apple said it notched profits of £20.7 billion, up less than 1% from the same last year. That translates to £1.29 per share in profit, off £90.1 billion in overall revenue, which itself was up more than 8% from the £83.3 billion reported last year. It was also above average analyst estimates, which were £1.27 per share in profits on nearly £89 billion in revenue, according to surveys published by Yahoo Finance.

“This quarter’s results reflect Apple’s commitment to our customers, to the pursuit of innovation, and to leaving the world better than we found it,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. He’s expected to discuss more details about the company’s results on a conference call with analysts later Thursday. Apple’s stock closed regular trading down 3% to £144.80 per share.

The stock’s fallen more than 20% so far this year, valuing the company at about £2.3 trillion. Apple’s financial disclosures add to a growing tapestry of information about world economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s war on Ukraine and nagging inflation. Other tech giants, including Google parent Alphabet, Facebook parent Meta and Amazon have said each of their businesses are being hit by economic troubles as well.

Apple said it tallied sales growth in each of its major product categories, except the iPad, whose sales dropped 13% to nearly £7.2 billion from the same time a year ago.

Sales rose in nearly every major market in which it sells as well, including a 6% rise in China sales, 8% higher sales in the Americas, and a nearly 10% jump in European sales.

In Japan, though, sales fell nearly 10%.