Apple's quarterly figures: iPhone sales boom before tariffs hit
In Q1 Apple saw year-over-year boosts in revenue and profit, driven by iPhone 16e and Services. Yet, these gains fell short of stock market expectations.
Apple store in China: sales there fell – more than Wall Street expected.
(Image: gob_cu / Shutterstock)
Apple announced its quarterly results for the first three months of 2025 on Friday night. Although the iPhone manufacturer was able to grow its sales and profits overall, business in China was worse than expected. At the same time, Wall Street fears the high costs of punitive tariffs, which the US government has only suspended for the time being.
Turnover grows by 5 percent
Apple's revenue amounted to 95.4 billion US dollars, an increase of around 5 percent compared to the same period last year. Net profit amounted to 24.78 billion dollars. This corresponds to 1.65 dollars per diluted share. In the same period last year, Apple achieved sales of 90.75 billion dollars, with a net profit of 23.63 billion. Operating profit in the first quarter amounted to 29.58 billion dollars. Cash generated by operating activities totaled 53.88 billion dollars in the six months to the end of March 2025, compared to 24 billion dollars in the quarter, according to Apple's new CFO Kevan Parekh.
Business in China, which remains under particular scrutiny, fell by 2.3 percent to 16 billion dollars in sales. Wall Street had expected sales of 16.83 percent here. Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted to analysts that the company has budgeted for up to 900 million dollars in higher costs due to US tariffs, particularly against China – in the current financial period and only if there are no major changes. At the same time, Apple sees growth only "up to" a maximum of 5 percent – Wall Street had expected 5 percent outright. "We will manage the company as we always have, with thoughtful and deliberate decisions," Cook said. The aim is always to invest for the long term. However, none of this reassured investors: Apple shares fell by up to 4 percent in after-hours trading after remaining stable at the close.
Videos by heise
Apple's AI problems remain an issue
Apple was able to increase iPhone sales by 2 percent to 46.8 billion dollars. The iPhone 16e was presented during the quarter. The iPhone 16 and 16 Pro also remained "a hit" with users, according to Cook. Mac sales rose by 7 percent to 7.9 billion dollars. Sales of the iPad rose – by a whopping 15 percent to 6.4 billion dollars, probably also thanks to the iPad Air M3 and iPad 11. The wearables and accessories division recorded a 5 percent drop in sales (now 7.5 billion). Users are waiting for new Apple Watch models, and the AirPods Pro 3 are also still pending. The service business continued to grow: turnover increased by 12 percent to 26.6 billion dollars. However, the question is how long this will last – Antitrust watchdogs are making it increasingly difficult for Apple in the App Store, for example. Nevertheless, the Apple TV+ streaming service set new viewer records. Turnover? Unclear.
When it comes to AI (Apple Intelligence), Apple admitted that the "more personal Siri" still needs some time. "It has to meet our quality standards." However, the company is "making progress", said Cook. Apple's gross margin was 47.1 percent, 20 basis points higher than the previous quarter. Hardware products accounted for 35.9 percent and services for 75.7 percent. Apple announced its intention to pay a dividend of 26 US cents, an increase of 4 percent. Up to 100 billion dollars in treasury shares may be bought back, according to the Board of Directors. From January to April, the Group returned 29 billion dollars to shareholders – via dividends and share buybacks.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)
