Apple’s earnings report yesterday wasn’t just the best ever for Apple; the company had the most profitable quarter ever recorded for any public company, ever, with profits of $18 billion on revenues of $74.6 billion. While the competition from Android may be mounting, there’s no question that Apple’s dominance over the mobile market continues to have a steady grip. The company beat its estimates handily, showing earnings of $3.06 per share versus estimates of $2.68 per share from analysts.
The numbers are a massive increase from the same quarter in the previous year, with iPhone sales up 46 percent versus the same quarter in 2014. The news wasn’t so good for iPad sales, with a drop of 17.7 percent over the previous year, which still meant the company sold 21.4 million iPads in the quarter.
Tim Cook reported during the earnings call that this quarter represented the highest number of new iPhone users and the highest switch rate from an Android phone to an iPhone. One thing is abundantly clear: The move to a larger screen size helped sales.
Both smartphones and tablets in the Apple fold helped these sales, but the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models easily led the charge, with a high demand for each device. This is especially true in China, where Apple easily dominated the market with sales, according to research film Canalys. This is a staggering piece of information, especially considering that the phones sell for a higher price than in other markets.
“While Chinese smartphone vendors are quickly gaining ground internationally, Apple has turned the tables on them in their home market,” said Canalys in its report. “The company is finally riding the large screen and LTE trends in China, which have been vital to its success, along with a well-timed launch and a clampdown on grey exports of its products out of Hong Kong. The top four vendors in Q4 in China by units shipped were Apple, Xiaomi, Samsung and Huawei, respectively.”
So what does this mean It should mean a strong year for Apple in 2015, with the company’s Beats music-streaming service possibly being integrated into a new version of iTunes, as well as new pieces of tech that could be announced within the next few months. Let’s not forget the technological push that many app developers are making for the devices as well. Rumors are swirling of a new, larger iPad being introduced this year, and it’s clear that Apple has some work to do to put iPad sales on a growth path once again. Tim Cook confirmed that the Apple Watch will ship in April, and with the solid sales of iPhones backing it up, the device should do well from the start.
It’s going to be quite a good year for Apple, even with Android knocking at the door. Apple has the momentum now, and can it be sustained in the face of new Android smartphones The battle will be interesting to watch.
