Apple Says App Store Changes and Mobile Gaming Softness Affected Services Revenue

Apple's services revenue reached $30.7 billion, marking a 12% increase compared to the $27.4 billion earned in the previous year's quarter. However, this figure fell short of expectations, leading to questions from analysts about the performance of the App Store. CFO Kevan Parekh attributed this underperformance to softer mobile gaming activity and Apple's recent modifications to the App Store business model in certain countries.

The United States continues to operate under a court ruling that affects link-out transactions, while recent fee updates in Japan and Brazil have resulted in no fees on link-outs in the U.S. and reduced fees from alternative app marketplace apps in the EU. Despite these changes, the App Store still set a record revenue for the June quarter.

Apple's cloud services, video, payment services, and advertising experienced double-digit growth, with a record number of Apple Pay users. Apple has also reached 1.5 billion paid subscriptions, setting an all-time high for transacting and paid accounts. Parekh noted that factors beyond the App Store, including foreign exchange fluctuations, contributed to the overall impact on services revenue.

He mentioned that the theatrical release of F1, which occurred last year, had no equivalent release this year, making the comparison more challenging. Analysts anticipate services growth in the upcoming quarter to be similar to the June quarter, accounting for an approximately 2.5 percentage point foreign exchange headwind.