Apple beats fourth-quarter revenue estimates, but sees iPhone sales fall

By Christian de Looper Published October 25, 2016

Apple is not showing many signs of slowing — the company reported a stellar fourth quarter of 2016, showing results that were in the high end of Wall Street expectations. In fact, nearly every one of Apple’s products sold more than expected and that may not change as we head into the holiday season.

According to Apple’s earnings call, the company reported a massive $46.9 billion in revenue, with earnings of $1.67 per share — more than the $1.65 expected by Wall Street analysts. When it comes to specific products, the company sold 45.5 million iPhones, 9.3 million iPads, and 4.9 million Macs. The 9.3 million iPads sold was also more than expected — Wall Street expected 9.1 million iPads. While the company did beat expectations, sales of the iPhone fell 2 percent year-over-year.

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While Apple’s fourth quarter was a strong one, analysts are now looking to the next quarter, which will likely be even stronger. That is because the iPhone 7 and the Apple Watch Series 2 will continue their excellent sales into the holiday season, and the new MacBooks may go on sale soon.

How much better will the first quarter be? Apple is forecasting $76 billion to $78 billion in revenue. The company reported $75 billion for its most recent first quarter, so if the company meets its goal, it will represent healthy growth — especially healthy given the fact that the company has reported a slight decline year-over-year for several quarters now. It is also possible that Apple’s revenue could be even larger because of one unexpected turn of events — the Galaxy Note 7 debacle. It is possible many consumers will flock to the iPhone after the Galaxy Note 7 recalls, which could push Apple’s revenue even higher.

Not everything was good for Apple. The company reported an average selling price for the iPhone that falls short of Wall Street expectations. That basically means that not everyone is buying the newest and most expensive iPhone — or that some of Apple’s lower-cost and older iPhones are, at least to a degree, cannibalizing sales of the iPhone 7.

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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