Apple: Supply issues remain, but are on the path to improvement
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Chief Executive Tim Cook said Thursday that despite ongoing issues affecting the availability of supplies used in some of its products, the company is still managing to turn in the strongest sales in its history.
Cook made his comments on a conference call following the release of Apple's (AAPL) fiscal first-quarter results. For the quarter ended December 25, 2021, Apple (AAPL) earned $2.10 a share, on a company record $123.9 billion in revenue, compared to a profit of $1.68 a share, on sales of $111.4 billion in the year-ago period. The results also topped the estimates of Wall Street analysts, who had forecast Apple (AAPL) to earn $1.89 a share on $118.4 billion in revenue.
But, while Cook was able to point to a laundry list of sales records, he didn't waste any time addressing the matter of supply chain shortages on areas of the company's business, especially iPad sales, which fell 14% from the prior year, to $7.25 billion in the quarter.
"We experienced supply constraints that were higher than in the September quarter," Cook said. "I can't say it gets any easier."
When Apple (AAPL) reported its September quarter results, the company said it suffered an impact of $6 billion on its business due to supply chain constraints, and that its December quarter would see a larger such effect on its business.
Neither Cook, nor Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri gave a figure for what kind of an impact supply chain matters had on the recently completed quarter. Maestri did say that Apple (AAPL) expects supply constraints to lessen during its current quarter, which ends in March.
Maestri didn't give revenue outlook for Apple's (AAPL) fiscal second quarter, but said the company expects to report "solid year-over-year revenue growth."
In after-hours trading, Apple (AAPL) shares rose 4%. The company's shares have been caught up in the recent market swoon that has hit the entire tech sector, and are down by more than 9% since reaching $182.88 on Jan. 3.