IPhones Rebounded, Next Lineup Delayed; Apple Stock Up

Apple’s record fiscal Q3 revenue of $59.7 billion, up 11% year on year, was due to a “strong iPhone SE launch,” continued economic stimulus and lifting of shelter-in-place restrictions around the world, said CEO Tim Cook on Thursday’s earnings call. (For quarterly materials, see here.) Growth spanned all regions in the quarter ended June 27. IPhone revenue returned to growth -- up 2% to $26.4 billion, 11% shipment growth to 26.4 million -- but the next-generation iPhone lineup will be delayed, said Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri. Last year, Apple began selling the 11 Series in late September. This year, “we project supply to be available a few weeks later,” said Maestri. Other product categories are expected to have “strong year-over-year performance,” he said. Though wearables shipments grew in the June quarter to 6.4 million from 5.5 million, growth slowed, which Cook attributed to store closures during the pandemic. Apple Watch customers like to shop for bands when making a purchase, he said. Subscriptions grew 35 million to 550 million, on target to hit 600 million this year, Cook said. Apple expects a strong back-to-school season and has “some optimism” about the December quarter. “We need to see a vaccine or therapeutic or both, and there's some optimism around that in that particular time frame,” Cook said. “That would boost consumer confidence quite a bit if it began to happen.” The stock, which the company is splitting, closed up 10% Friday at $425.04.