Apple boss Tim Cook has suggested the tech company could lower iPhone prices in some markets in a bid to boost sales.
News of the possible price change came on Tuesday as Apple announced iPhone revenue of $51.9 billion for the most recent holiday quarter, marking a 15 percent year-on-year decline.
Apple posted total revenue of $84.3 billion for the quarter ending December 29, 2018 – a decline of 5 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. It was Apple's first decline in both revenue and profit in more than a decade.
For a company that just saw revenue from its most important business segment nose-dive by $9 billion dollars during its most important quarter, Apple looked to strike an optimistic note about its outlook when announcing its holiday quarter earnings today.
Despite all that, CEO Tim Cook looked to put the best possible spin on Apple's results, noting the company saw record highs in revenue for its Mac and wearable's business. IPad revenue was up 17 percent for the quarter, the best rate for its tablets in six years. And revenue from services — an increasing area of focus for Apple – topped $10.8 billion during the holiday quarter, a 19 percent gain from last year.
"We are as confident as ever in the fundamental strength of our business, and we have an exciting pipeline with announcements coming later this year," Cook told Wall Street analysts during a conference call today. "We're not taking our foot off the gas."
iPhone sales numbers are going to stick out, though, particularly since Apple stopped breaking out unit sales. And Cook outlined the reasons why Apple's phone sales took a big hit during the quarter.
Currency exchange rates were a big culprit, particularly with Apple's China business. According to Cook, the strength of the U.S. dollar made Apple's phones more expensive, hurting sales in emerging markets.
Apple was also stung by reduced subsidies from carriers that offset the cost of upgrading to a new iPhone in many markets. In Japan, for example, less than half the iPhones Apple sold during the quarter were subsidized by carriers, Cook said, compared to three-quarters of iPhones sold a year ago. Subsidies were also less than they have been in the past, according to Apple, further depressing sales.
