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Apple sold 77.3 million iPhones over the holidays, but still fell short of estimates

Apple sold 77.3 million iPhones over the holidays, but still fell short of estimates

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Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

Apple brought in $88.3 billion in revenue this past quarter, on target with the $84 to $87 billion sales figure it projected in its last earnings report. The company sold 77.3 million iPhones, just roughly one million units shy of its last record of 78.2 units in Q1 2017, and below analyst estimates of 80 million.

Though Apple sold fewer iPhones compared to this period last year, it made more money thanks to the higher price of the iPhone X. With the 10th anniversary model, the average selling price of an iPhone is now $796 compared to $695 last year, prior to the device’s launch.

All in all, Apple’s total sales are up 13 percent — the company’s all-time sales record in a quarter. It also kept more older iPhone models on sale during the holiday season, in an effort to capitalize on fast-growing markets like China and India. International sales accounted for 65 percent of total sales, the company reports.

“iPhone X surpassed our expectations and has been our top-selling iPhone every week since it shipped in November,” CEO Tim Cook says. “We’ve also achieved a significant milestone with our active installed base of devices reaching 1.3 billion in January. That’s an increase of 30 percent in just two years, which is a testament to the popularity of our products and the loyalty and satisfaction of our customers.” 

Sales of iPads year over year is smaller, up just one percent during the same period last year. Apple’s revenue continue to flow in from other divisions like services — which includes iCloud, Apple Music, iTunes, and the App Store — with an increase of 18 percent year over year. Last quarter, Apple’s services division generated more revenue than sales of AirPods, Apple TV, Watch, and iPad combined.

For next quarter, the company is projecting a revenue of $60 billion compared to $51.5 billion this time last year as it prepares to release its HomePod smart speaker mid-way through this fiscal quarter.