Apple beats revenue forecast in first quarter, but iPhone sales took a hit

By Christian de Looper Published February 2, 2018

Despite reports that Apple hadn’t sold as many iPhone X units as it may have hoped, the iPhone and iPad maker has beaten its revenue forecast for the fiscal first quarter of 2018. The company raked in a massive $88.4 billion in revenue, topping the forecast of between $84 billion and $87 billion.

Apple’s fiscal first quarter of 2018 includes the last three months of the 2017 calendar year.

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According to the report from Apple, it sold 77.3 million iPhones, 13.2 iPads, and 5.1 million Macs, which drove an increase in revenue compared to the same quarter the previous year, when it earned $78.4 billion.

Perhaps even more important is the fact that Apple has reported an active install base of 1.3 billion devices. In other words, there are 1.3 billion Apple devices that are regularly used by customers. That, of course, doesn’t mean that 1.3 billion people use Apple devices — many Apple users own multiple devices. Some even probably own an iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.

Reports of lackluster iPhone sales have some weight — though lackluster is hardly a word many would use to describe 77.3 million units sold. The company reported iPhone sales of 78.3 million units in Q1 2017, so while Q1 2018 was better for overall revenue, the fact is that the company sold fewer iPhones during the most recent quarter. It will be interesting to see how the company responds. Reports indicate that the company could launch as many as three phones with iPhone X-type designs in 2018.

This year could also be interesting for the company as it’s gearing up to launch the HomePod, its Siri-powered smart speaker. It’s also rumored to be prepping a new Mac Pro, though it’s unlikely the Mac Pro will have a huge impact on its overall revenue.

Still, despite the slip in iPhone unit sales, Apple says that Q1 2018 was its biggest quarter ever — and that’s no small feat. Not only that, but the iPhone is still provides Apple’s biggest revenue stream by far.

“We’re thrilled to report the biggest quarter in Apple’s history, with broad-based growth that included the highest revenue ever from a new iPhone lineup,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement.

Christian de Looper

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…

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