Analysts expect Apple to report tepid quarterly revenue growth on Thursday

Apple is anticipated to announce modest quarterly revenue growth on Thursday, attributed to the slow introduction of artificial intelligence features and stiff competition from China, which have impacted iPhone sales during the vital holiday shopping period.
Both Apple and its competitors, Google and Samsung, have been banking on AI to boost device sales. However, the iPhone 16 series, launched in September, did not include these AI enhancements at the outset. Apple’s AI services, including an upgraded Siri, are slated for release later this year, but only in select regions.
Reuters:
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“AI is the new technology innovation, the fact that Apple’s handsets are lagging behind on capabilities is a key reason why their competitive positioning has weakened and the company has lost market share,” said Jane Hepburne Scott, investment manager at Aegon Asset Management, which owns Apple shares.
Under pressure from a resurgent Huawei as well as other Chinese smartphone makers, Apple saw its share of the global smartphone market narrow to 23% in the final three months of 2024 from almost 25% a year earlier, according to IDC data.
The decline was steeper in China – its third-largest market – where Apple’s share fell by 10 percentage points to 17%, the data showed.
Analysts expect the company to post revenue growth of 3.8% for the three months to December, Apple’s first fiscal quarter, according to data from LSEG… Sales of iPhone will likely tick up 1.9% in the first quarter… Mac sales are expected to rise 2.3%, slightly faster compared with the previous three months, while iPad revenue is expected to increase by 4.2%, a slower pace than the fourth quarter. The services business, which has in recent years outpaced growth in Apple’s devices, is expected to post an increase of 12.9% in sales.

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MacDailyNews Take: Well see how “tepid” quarterly revenue growth really is tomorrow around 4:30pm ET (the average analyst estimate for Apple’s earnings per share and revenue in the quarter is $2.35 and $124.03 billion, according to data from Bloomberg), but the most important focus will be, as always, on Apple’s guidance ranges.

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