Apple posts record revenue despite slowing iPhone sales

This category includes Apple TV, Beats products, iPods and accessories for Apple devices as well as the Watch, though, so it’s hard to draw any firm conclusions.

The $75.9 billion in revenue for the company’s fiscal 2016 first quarter, which ended December 26, is up 2 percent from $74.6 billion in the same quarter one year ago, while the company’s net income of $18.4 billion, which set another quarterly record, rose from $18 billion one year ago.

Apple expected its revenue for the second quarter of its financial year to be between $50 billion and $53 billion, which would be the first quarterly decrease for the company in 13 years and falling below estimated revenue of $55.5 billion.

This would be its first decrease in sales in more than a decade as the company reported the slowest-ever growth in iPhone shipments which implies that company’s unprecedented run of growth is history.

Cook called Apple’s services business “an unbelievable asset” for the company, and noted that Apple now has 1 billion “active” devices in use that can drive services sales. Using “constant currency” measures, Apple’s revenue for the holiday quarter would have been $80.8 billion for an 8 percent increase year-over-year.

It was also a huge drop when compared to the 46 per cent growth in sales reported for the same quarter, last year.

Today Apple released its Q1 2016 results, and-surprise, surprise-it still didn’t break out Watch sales separately, the way it does for Macs, iPhones and iPads.

In this September 9, 2015, photo, people look over the new Apple iPhone 6s models during a product display following an Apple event in San Francisco.

It comes after years of rocketing growth for the market-leading iPhone, which drives two-thirds of Apple’s revenue.

“We generated operating cash flow of $27.5bn (US) during the quarter, and returned over $9bn (US) to investors through share repurchases and dividends”.

While it would be wrong to say that the iPhone is struggling, the word could arguably be applied to some of Apple’s other products.

“Apple is at a crossroads and must make some strategic decisions to position the company for the future”, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research, in an email exchange with EE Times.