iPhone-Konzern: Teure Speicherchips treffen Apple im Weihnachtsgeschäft

The iPhone conglomerate faced challenges during its usual lucrative Christmas quarter due to soaring memory chip prices. Apple's iPhone business outperformed market expectations, with revenue increasing 17.5% year-over-year to $57.56 billion. However, the company missed analyst estimates for earnings per share by about $1 billion.

Apple's new CEO, John Ternus, informed analysts during a conference call that the cost increase for memory chips is unprecedented and likely to continue. Ternus mentioned that Apple plans to offset this by reducing prices on other components. Despite a 33 billion dollar increase in production orders within three months, Apple projected a gross margin of 45-46% for the Christmas quarter.

Analysts had anticipated a margin of around 50% in the autumn quarter. Apple also predicted a seven to ten percent sales increase, surpassing analyst expectations. The iPhone remains the company's most significant product, with new models traditionally released in September, available in time for the Christmas season. This time, only two more expensive model lines, the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone Duo, will launch.

The cheaper new devices are expected to follow the next year. The iPhone Duo, however, continues to face production bottlenecks. The top manager responsible for operations, Sabih Khan, acknowledged the difficulty in balancing supply and demand. Ternus emphasized that technology should make the world better, aiming to achieve this through products that set unyielding standards for quality, performance, design, and longevity.

The iPhone remains central to Apple's business in the AI era, acting as a personal digital hub for accessing applications using artificial intelligence. Overall, Apple's quarterly revenue grew 12% year-over-year to $114.5 billion, with profits increasing by the same percentage to $30.7 billion. This growth was also driven by refunds from US import taxes after the US Supreme Court struck down some of President Donald Trump's measures.

Apple's revenue from services and China operations fell short of analyst expectations despite growth. Financial chief Kevan Parekh noted Apple's reduced App Store commissions in several markets, which contribute to Apple's earnings.