This week, Apple announced its record-setting revenue of $123.9 billion in the first quarter of 2022, driven by strong iPhone sales in the holiday season. However, headwinds from its supply chain difficulties held it back from earning around $130 billion in revenue.
During the earnings call with investors and market analysts, Apple CFO Luca Maestri said that the company expects business performance in March to set a revenue record despite being hamstrung by “significant” supply chain constraints that will continue in the quarter. He said the company isn’t providing specific guidance for the current quarter due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain difficulties. However, he said he expects revenue growth to be “solid on a year-over-year basis.”
Maestri mentioned that while Apple recorded substantial numbers across all products and services, the iPad was particularly affected by the shortage. Its revenue dropped 14 percent YoY. Cook attributed the decline to “legacy nodes.” Interacting with the Financial Times, the CFO speculated that the company expects a lower but “significant” headwind for its revenue in the current quarter. Maestri said that due to a “challenging year-over-year comparison,” the revenue growth rate would be lower in Q2 2022.
.@apple finance chief tells the @FT:
Supply chain issues are being resolved: “We expect to set a March quarter revenue record and we expect to grow revenue solidly on a year over year basis.”
Headwind last quarter: "more than $6bn."
Analysts feared upwards of $10bn
— Patrick McGee (@PatrickMcGee_) January 27, 2022
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, the company’s CEO Tim Cook also said, “We saw supply constraints across most of our products.” “We’re forecasting that we will be less (constrained) in March than we were in the December quarter,” he added. On a cautionary note, Cook said that accurate business performance forecasts depend on a variety of factors. He said one needs to know “a lot of things” to make accurate forecasts, such as the market demands and the company’s supply capability.
[Via the Wall Street Journal]
