Apple sales fall for the first three quarters in a row since 2016

The mediocre performance of the world’s most valuable company disappointed Wall Street but didn’t deter investors. Apple announced a fall in sales for the third consecutive quarter, the first since 2016, although it beat profit and revenue expectations. The result is a mix of lime and grit that left the company’s stock virtually flat after hours and down less than 1%.

As for the results themselves, Apple posted a profit of 1.26 cents per share, higher than the expected 1.19, and revenue of $81.8 billion, beating the analysts’ reported 81,690, but even so, 1 percent lower than last year. But not all segments were positive: Sales of the iPhone, the core business, fell 2% year on year. and they fell short of the expected $39.910 million, stopping at $39.670 million.

also disappointed ipad (5.790 million instead of estimated 6.410 million)whose sales fell 20% year on year.and the “other” category (8,280 million compared to an estimated 8,390). Only the iMac kept the figure (6,840 million versus the expected 6,620, albeit with a drop of 7%) and service segment that signs the only great newswith an 8% year-on-year increase in revenue to 21,210 million, surpassing the projected 20,760.

The company’s biggest problem is that Smartphone industry ‘going through very difficult times in the US’, as Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged. In addition, the strengthening of the dollar has hurt foreign exchange earnings, reducing their benefits. They warn that if not for the influence of the dollar, the firm would have had positive growth.

The good news, to offset the bad US data, is that China, its third largest market, is on the rise again, with sales up 8% year on year after falling in the previous quarter. The Asian giant’s economic position is drawing analysts’ attention, and its slow recovery from the coronavirus is one of the biggest concerns for the firms that sell the most there.

However, the firm explained that their biggest hope for the future is the subscription service category. like Apple TV or Apple Music. Cook announced that in total, including all of its services, they have 1,000 million active subscriptions, up 150 million year-on-year and 100% from three years ago.