While iPhone sales remain stagnant, Apple services hit $10B in revenue • Hacker News Board

Re: While iPhone sales remain stagnant, Apple services hit $10B in revenue

#21

Post by howlingfantods » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 9:57 AM UTC

diminish wrote: post #17

howlingfantods wrote: post #12

The average sales priced for an iPhone increased nearly 30% from $618 to $793. Services now account for 16% of revenue. Apple is gradually shifting from a device maker to an ecosystem company that consumers pay a premium initial fee to enter and pay an additional recurring free to use.

Yet services would be better if units sold gets increased. So cheaper models are a must. So it's so far an excellent strategy milking the high end keeping the units sold not fall.

Services might be better, but I suspect that budget conscious consumers would also spend less on services, compared to customers willing to spend $1200 on an iPhone XS. I imagine their FP&A team has done pretty thorough analysis that the extra sales from fewer products at higher margins will offset the incremental increase in revenue from more (potentially lower value) services subscribers.

Re: While iPhone sales remain stagnant, Apple services hit $10B in revenue

#22

Post by Retric » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 10:00 AM UTC

xxs wrote: post #16

IMTDb wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stagnant has a very negative meaning attached to it. The author could have used words like "constant" (neural) or "steady" (positive). He chose to use "stagnant" and deserves to be called for it.

The use of stagnant is correct, as for negative the share price affect is immediate as it includes an expected growth.

Apple’s P/E of 20.13 does not suggest people expect significant growth. Inflation + 5% returns is a reasonable investment even without increased unit sales.

Re: While iPhone sales remain stagnant, Apple services hit $10B in revenue

#23

Post by beerlord » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 10:03 AM UTC

Apple takes a 30% commission on any revenue passing through the store, and 15% on subscriptions.

These fees are exorbitant - they are merely ringing a credit card, transmitting a few megabytes of data, and performing a basic examination of the app itself. The oligopolistic position that they hold is their main point of value.

Re: While iPhone sales remain stagnant, Apple services hit $10B in revenue

#24

Post by trosi » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 10:05 AM UTC

keymone wrote: post #19

trosi wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So it's a good thing that unit sales haven't risen?

is "unit sales" number the only number in the report?

Of course not. Nobody is saying that revenue is stagnant. Only iPhone sales are. It seems correct to me.

Re: While iPhone sales remain stagnant, Apple services hit $10B in revenue

#25

Post by chongli » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 10:05 AM UTC

nounaut wrote: post #4

gehsty wrote: post #2

Stagnant is not a fair way to describe selling 46.8 million iPhones.

Stagnant implies it's not growing, not that it's not selling.

Stagnant carries a connotation of some dark, oxygen-deprived mire that suffocates fish and smells horrible. It invokes images of death and decay. Not exactly the idea I had in mind when I hear of the sales numbers.

Re: While iPhone sales remain stagnant, Apple services hit $10B in revenue

#26

Post by beerlord » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 10:06 AM UTC

howlingfantods wrote: post #12

The average sales priced for an iPhone increased nearly 30% from $618 to $793. Services now account for 16% of revenue. Apple is gradually shifting from a device maker to an ecosystem company that consumers pay a premium initial fee to enter and pay an additional recurring free to use.

Or you can just buy that same flagship model 24 months later, still working perfectly well and with many more years of iOS updates, for a fraction of the price. The second-hand market for iPhones and iPads is huge, and iPhone sales in markets like India are primarily or refurbished iPhones brought in from the West at an industrial scale.

Re: While iPhone sales remain stagnant, Apple services hit $10B in revenue

#27

Post by onetimemanytime » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 10:06 AM UTC

howlingfantods wrote: post #12

The average sales priced for an iPhone increased nearly 30% from $618 to $793. Services now account for 16% of revenue. Apple is gradually shifting from a device maker to an ecosystem company that consumers pay a premium initial fee to enter and pay an additional recurring free to use.

Maybe the latest iPhone is good enough, like a 8 year PC is for most people? Either way, to get $$ from services, you need to have people use your devices and platform.

Microsoft went as far as saying, if you're going to pirate an OS, pirate ours. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/microsoft-gives-up-on-c...

Re: While iPhone sales remain stagnant, Apple services hit $10B in revenue

#28

Post by Cthulhu_ » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 10:09 AM UTC

beerlord wrote: post #23

Apple takes a 30% commission on any revenue passing through the store, and 15% on subscriptions. These fees are exorbitant - they are merely ringing a credit card, transmitting a few megabytes of data, and performing a basic examination of the app itself. The oligopolistic position that they hold is their main point of value.

Not entirely true. Stores are also the first point of contact for support and warranty. I know Apple resellers nearby also offer (free) courses to get acquainted with apple devices and applications.

Re: While iPhone sales remain stagnant, Apple services hit $10B in revenue

#29

Post by alexis_fr » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 10:09 AM UTC

cm2187 wrote: post #9

hacker_9 wrote: post #8

I mean sure 'Stagnant' means that there was no growth, but it also implies that this is a bad thing, which in this case it obviously isn't. Clickbait title.

How high do you think they can go in term of prices? And do you think they will sell many £1000 smartphones in a recession? Stagnant volumes is not an imminent problem but the share price is a forward looking metric.

A $600 mass phone in 2007 was difficult to imagine. And 2008 was the recession.

Re: While iPhone sales remain stagnant, Apple services hit $10B in revenue

#30

Post by keymone » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 10:16 AM UTC

trosi wrote: post #24

keymone wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

is "unit sales" number the only number in the report?

Of course not. Nobody is saying that revenue is stagnant. Only iPhone sales are. It seems correct to me.

it is also correct to say unit sales are stable. using a word with negative connotation to describe a largely positive event smells bias and manipulation to me.