Behind Apple'S Revenue Breaking Through 100 Billion US Dollars In A Single Quarter: Global Market Recovery And Mobile Phone Pattern Changes

In the shadow of the epidemic, apple still handed in a better than expected financial report.

On January 28, Apple released its first quarter results for fiscal year 2021. According to the report, the company's first quarter net revenue was $111.439 billion, up 21% from $91.819 billion in the same period last year, setting the latest record in the company's history, with net profit of $28.755 billion, an increase of 29% over last year's $22.236 billion. Diluted earnings per share were $1.68, up 35% from $1.25 in the same period last year.

Among them, the net revenue of Greater China was 21.313 billion US dollars, which was 13.578 billion US dollars in the same period of last year, up 56.97% year-on-year. It is worth noting that under the background of stock market competition, the relationship between brand is still the same. On the same day, IDC and canalys released global smartphone sales reports in the fourth quarter of 2020. According to the IDC report, in the fourth quarter of 2020, the top five manufacturers in terms of global sales of smart phones are apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, oppo and Huawei. Under the pressure of U.S. sanctions, Huawei became the only manufacturer among the top five in terms of sales decline. Its fourth quarter shipment volume was 32.3 million units, down 42.4% year-on-year.

Wang Xi, manager of IDC's China research, told reporters of the 21st century economic report that with the continuous changes in the external environment, the market pattern may be reshaped, which will undoubtedly bring opportunities for development. This requires industry participants not only to start from the changes in demand side, but also to consider the competition for production capacity from the perspective of competition, comprehensively judge and dynamically adjust the market strategy, step by step in the face of variables, seek progress in stability, and explore their own certainty in uncertainty. "We believe that based on the stable growth of demand, the recovery of mobile phone market will accelerate."

From the first iPhone in 2007 to now, Apple has launched 21 mobile phones in 11 years. IC photo

Apple's Chinese dividend

Last year, the global mobile phone market was affected by the epidemic. According to the report released by IDC, the global mobile phone shipment volume in 2020 is 1292.2 million, which is 5.9% lower than 1372.6 million in 2019. Canalys data also shows that the global mobile phone shipment volume in 2020 will be 1264.7 million, which is 7% lower than 1366.7 million in 2019.

Despite the decline throughout 2020, the progress of market recovery is impressive, especially in China. As the world's second largest economy, China has become one of the most important markets for multinational giants. The importance of China's market has been further highlighted at a time when developed economies such as the United States and Europe have not yet escaped the impact of the epidemic.

In the fourth quarter of last year, Apple's revenue exceeded the $100 billion mark for the first time, with sales in Greater China up 57%. By region, international sales account for 64% of Apple's revenue. Sales in Greater China, which fell 29% in the third quarter, were back on track, rising 57% to $21.3 billion (about 138 billion yuan).

Although its sales in Europe, the United States and other regions also showed rapid growth, but compared with the performance of the Greater China region is much worse. According to the data, the growth rate in the Americas is only 12%, while that in Europe is only 17%. The soaring sales in China will undoubtedly play an important role in breaking through the $100 billion mark for Apple's revenue.

Since its first iPhone in 2007, Apple has launched 21 mobile phones. IPhone sales have been declining since 2015. Since 2018, the sales volume of Apple series products in China has declined seriously. In the fourth quarter of 2018, Apple's shipment decreased by about 3 million units, a year-on-year decrease of about 22%. Throughout the year, iPhone shipments dropped from 36.7 million in 2017 to 34.2 million in 2018.

But the market reversed last year. Tim Cook, chief executive of apple, said that the upgrading of iPhone users in the Chinese market has reached a record high. "China's iPhones perform very well, and like the rest of the world, there have been record updating behaviors. Because China's 5g construction is advancing very fast, the vast majority of models sold in the Chinese market are 5g models. "

The market pattern has changed

Some analysts believe that Apple's strong recovery, to some extent, is from Huawei's grasp of the high-end market share. According to the IDC report, in the fourth quarter of 2020, the ranking of the top five manufacturers has changed significantly. Driven by the iPhone 12 series, apple returned to the top of the list with 90.1 million units. This set the highest single quarter shipment record of manufacturers, with a year-on-year increase of 22.2%, and occupied 23.4% of the market share; Samsung ranked second with 73.9 million units and 19.1% market share; Xiaomi remained third with 43.3 million units and 11.2% market share; while oppo rose to fourth place with 33.8 million units and 8.8% market share.

Under the heavy pressure of US sanctions, Huawei continued to suffer a sharp decline of 42.4% year-on-year, while the forecast of another organization was not very optimistic. A few days ago, the semiconductor research office of trendforce ranked Q4's global smartphone manufacturers. It believed that Apple would reach the top with 21.1% of the market share, Samsung would fall second with 17.7% of the market share. The smartphone market in 2021 will recover substantially, but Huawei can't keep its top six position.

The reason is still its shortage in the supply chain, especially in chip supply. Nabila popal, director of global mobile device research at IDC, said that many factors have driven the recovery of the smartphone market, including the suppressed market demand, the continuous promotion of 5g devices at the supply side, active promotion activities and discounts, and the popularity of mobile phones in low and medium price segments. Manufacturers also seem to be ready for a second blockade to ensure that there are appropriate channels to meet end-user orders.

In fact, because of the blockade, people's spending on leisure, tourism and dining out has decreased, while consumers' spending on almost all smart devices, including smartphones, has increased, and smartphones have also benefited.

Even if the industry recovers, how many opportunities are left for Huawei? In an interview with the 21st century economic report reporter, industry insiders who do not want to be named think that from the perspective of supply chain and operation, the possibility of lifting Huawei's chip ban this year is very small. If Huawei fails to obtain 5g chip supply and stops releasing and selling new products for one to two years, it will be in shock for the rapidly changing technology industry. Therefore, under the continuous change of market pattern, it is a good solution to seek separation or other cooperation.