<News alert> 4QFY9/23 earnings in line; New iPhone drives 1QFY9/24 revenue growth
- Apple’s 4QFY9/23 revenue decreased slightly by 0.7% y-o-y to US$89.5bn, weighed down by continuous Mac and iPad softness
- EPS increased 13% y-o-y to US$1.46, in line with market expectations
- Expected positive iPhone sales growth in 1Q24, driven by the competitive new iPhone 15 Pro.
4Q23 earnings increased by13%, in line. Apple’s overall revenue in 4QFY9/23 dipped by 0.7% y-o-y to US$89.49bn, in line with market consensus, due to a 33.9% drop in Mac segment revenue and a 10.2% decline in iPad revenue, reflecting continued softness in both categories. Meanwhile, iPhone revenue returned to growth of 2.7%%y-o-y vs. -2.5% decline in 3QFY9/23. Services revenue, maintained a growth of 8.2% y-o-y, outperforming other segments. Gross margin slightly increased to 45.2% compared to 44.5% in 3QFY9/23. EPS came in at US$1.46, up 13.2% y-o-y, largely in line with market expectations. The company declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.24 per share, with a yield of 0.53%.
Strong iPhone 15 series sales and service business to boost 2024 growth. Management anticipates growth in the coming March quarter. We also expect the competitive new iPhone 15 Pro to drive the company’s smartphone shipments in 2024 with sustainable premiumization, especially in the promising India market. Meanwhile, we expect Apple’s service business to continue demonstrating robust performance in tandem with the iPhone’s increasing market share. The “Vision Pro” XR headset which is expected to be released in early 2024 – as well as its services business – will boost growth in the next few years.