Apple Christmas sales surge to $111bn amid pandemic
The company said growth was especially strong in China, where the pandemic has already loosened its grip on the economy, helped in part by demand for phones compliant with new 5G networks. Sales jumped 57 percent in the broader China area of the group, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Apple sales have reached another milestone, as during the Christmas season, families loaded up on the company's new phones, laptops and gadgets. Sales hit more than $111bn (£81bn) in the last three months of 2020 - up 21 percent from the previous year. The gains come as the pandemic forces more online operation, fuelling fresh technology demand. Globally, Apple currently has more than 1.65 billion active devices, including over 1 billion iPhones. The gains from Apple follow the introduction of its new iPhone 12 phone suite, which managers said had persuaded a record number of individuals to turn to the company or upgrade from older versions.
The company said growth was especially strong in China, where the pandemic has already loosened its grip on the economy, helped in part by demand for phones compliant with new 5G networks. Sales jumped 57 percent in the broader China area of the group, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan. Sales accounted for 17 percent in Europe, and in the Americas they grew 11 percent. "The products are doing very well all around the world," said Luca Maestri, Apple's chief financial officer. "As we look ahead into the March quarter, we've very optimistic." Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said he figured the company was only at the beginning of a "super-cycle" as Apple devotees eventually trade in old phones, coinciding with telecommunications network upgrades.
"With 5G now in the cards and roughly 40 percent of its 'golden jewel' iPhone installed base not upgrading their phones in the last 3.5 years, [Apple chief Tim] Cook & Co have the stage set for a renaissance of growth," Big Tech has an outstandingly profitable pandemic. Any of those numbers are hard not to be wowed by. It is absolutely astonishing that Apple reported more than $100bn in revenue in just three months. Facebook numbers are way up on where they were last year as well. Big Tech has grown as other enterprises have struggled to survive. Some of these impressive numbers have other explanations for that. Certainly, with the upcoming 5G-enabled iPhone12, iPhone fans seem to be holding out. But it's not just Apple and Facebook, it's just a bumper year for all the massive tech firms. Covid19 suggests that people spend more time buying items online indoors, watching stuff online, and chatting online. Perhaps it's no surprise then that these businesses are reporting record breaking numbers. However, some refer to these numbers as just more proof that Big Tech has become too big to fail.
