Apple’s CEO Cook sees China as a bright spot after record iPhone sales in the country, despite overall revenue drop

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has expressed a positive outlook towards China, despite a slowdown in overall revenue. He stated that the demand for Apple's flagship product, the iPhone, remains robust in the country. This follows a record-breaking revenue from smartphone sales in the September quarter. This is noteworthy as Apple faces stiff competition from local Chinese brands such as Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, released its quarterly earnings report on Thursday. The report showed a fourth consecutive quarterly revenue decline between July and September. However, it also highlighted record services revenue and third-quarter iPhone sales.

Amid rising geopolitical tensions and reports that sales of Apple’s new iPhone 15 have been slightly behind sales of previous versions of the handset in China, Wall Street analysts focused on Apple’s business in the country during Cook’s earnings call. Cook stated, 'In the September quarter, we set an iPhone revenue record in China, and we’re very proud of that. Over the long term, I view China as an incredibly important market, and I’m very optimistic about it. ' The record iPhone revenue was achieved despite Apple’s latest iPhone 15 series being available for one week less in the third quarter compared with its predecessor in the same period last year.

Apple’s quarterly earnings report for July to September showed that its revenue from the Chinese market saw a slight year-on-year drop. Cook attributed this to past Mac computer and iPad supply disruptions and current foreign exchange rates. Overall smartphone sales in China contracted in the third quarter by 3 per cent, but this narrowed the year-on-year decline sequentially, signalling the market could be close to bottoming out. Amid the surprise release of Huawei’s 5G Mate 60 Pro in late August, Apple’s resilient revenue numbers are 'a good signal' for the company and the iPhone 15 series, according to Counterpoint research director Jeff Fieldhack.