The lack of chips ditches Apple’s accounts
Apple recorded overall revenues lower than expected due mainly to the production limitations imposed by the shortage of raw materials. And Cook warns: the impact on the next quarter will be worse
Chip shortage impacts Apple's quarterly report.
It is the first time since April 2016 that the Cupertino giant has failed to beat earnings estimates and the first time since May 2017 that the recorded revenues are lower than expected, according to data from Refinitiv.
CEO Tim Cook attributed the weakness of the accounts to problems with supply chains, which held back the production of iPhones, iPads and Macs.
“We had a very strong performance despite the limits on supplies which were higher than expected” and which will weigh “around 6 billion dollars”.
And investors took notice: They dropped Apple's stock – which had risen nearly 15% this year – by 4% in afterhours. The drop could make Microsoft the most valuable company in the world after a rise in the shares of the Redmond giant thanks to the strength of its cloud computing business , reports Reuters .
The problems are due "to the large shortage of chips that has been talked about so much and to the outages in Southeast Asia due to Covid-19," added Cook, interviewed by Cnbc .
All the details.
RECORD REVENUES BUT …
Apple reported record revenue of $ 83.4 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter, up 29% year-on-year, and each product category was up from a year earlier.
LESS THAN EXPECTATIONS
However, total revenues are lower than analysts' estimates of 84.8 billion according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
USEFUL
In its fiscal fourth quarter, Apple posted earnings per share of $ 1.24, equal to experts' forecasts.
REVENUE PER ACTIVITY
Revenues from the sale of Macs grew by 1.6% to 9.18 billion, against 9.23 billion in the consensus, those from iPads increased by 21.4% to 8.25 billion, in this case higher to expectations (7.23 billion). The gross margin was 42.2%, against expectations for 42%. Revenues from iPhones grew 47% to 38.87 billion, less than the expected 41.51 billion.
Revenue from its service segment – Apple TV, Music and the like – also grew more than expected.
Apple's annual revenue for its fiscal year 2021 increased 33% from 2020 to $ 366 billion.
FAULT OF THE LACK OF CHIPS …
The company said the chip shortage cost Apple up to $ 6 billion, and that sales of iPhones, which are the company's biggest source of revenue, also fell short of expectations.
Cook said chips made with the previous technology remain the key supply constraint. According to the number one of the Cupertino giant, the company is still not sure that the shortage will be alleviated after the Christmas shopping season.
… OF THE OTHERS
As CNBC points out, Cook pointed out that the supply problems involved chips on "legacy nodes" or older chips, instead of "homemade" processors from the Cupertino giant of Apple devices.
COOK FORECASTS FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER
Since the start of the pandemic, Apple has never provided official guidance, but Cook said he expects "solid year-over-year revenue growth" in the three months to December, despite saying production problems will deepen.
Finally, Apple says its December quarter will be the largest in terms of the company's revenue in its history.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/la-carenza-di-chip-affossa-i-conti-di-apple/ on Fri, 29 Oct 2021 10:12:23 +0000.