The Paper reporter Zhou Ling

  Due to the decline in iPhone and Mac sales, Apple's first-quarter revenue fell 5% year-on-year. This is the first year-on-year revenue decline since March 2019 and the largest quarterly decline since September 2016.

  On February 3, Apple disclosed its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2023 ending December 31, 2022.

Revenue during the period was US$117.2 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 5%, which was the largest quarterly revenue decline since September 2016. Wall Street expected US$121.4 billion; net profit was US$29.998 billion, compared with 34.630 billion in the same period last year. Earnings per share of $1.88 fell 13 percent compared to the dollar, below analysts' expectations of $1.94.

  Apple CEO Tim Cook (Tim Cook) said that the performance of the last quarter was affected by three factors, the strong U.S. dollar, production problems of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, and the overall macroeconomic environment.

  In terms of products, iPhone and Mac revenues declined, falling short of expectations.

Among them, iPhone revenue was US$65.78 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8.17%, analysts had expected US$67.8 billion; Mac revenue was US$7.74 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 28.66%, analysts expected US$9.4 billion; other product revenue was US$13.48 billion , a year-on-year decrease of 8.3%.

  Apple's iPad continued to grow, with revenue of $9.40 billion, a year-on-year increase of 29.66%. This business exceeded previous expectations.

In addition, Apple's service revenue was US$20.77 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.4%.

Apple's gross margin for the quarter was 42.96%.

  In terms of regions, Apple experienced a year-on-year decline in revenue in all regional markets this fiscal quarter. Among them, the Greater China market revenue was 23.9 billion U.S. dollars, compared with 25.8 billion U.S. dollars in the same period last year, a decrease of 7%.

  However, on the whole, iPhone performed better than other brands in this quarter.

Statistics from Counterpoint Research show that the Chinese smartphone market fell 15% in the fourth quarter.

With a market share of 23.7%, iPhone was the highest among all manufacturers during the quarter.

  Apple did not provide performance guidance for the current fiscal quarter (as of the end of March). Since the 2020 epidemic, Apple has not provided performance guidance. Analysts expect Apple's sales in the second fiscal quarter to reach about $98 billion.

  Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said revenue for the fiscal second quarter ended in the March quarter followed a similar year-over-year trend to the December quarter.

Maestri said the services business is expected to grow, but sales of Macs and iPads are expected to decline by double digits year-over-year.

Apple added that it will sell fewer iPhones in March than in December.

  CNBC reported that Apple's performance last quarter was shocking, and its profit fell short of consensus estimates for the first time in nearly seven years.

According to the "Wall Street Journal", this is the first time in the past four years that Apple's quarterly revenue has declined year-on-year.

  In the past three years, due to the global epidemic, home office and online classes for students have driven up sales of Apple devices, but now global economic headwinds have brought challenges to Apple.

  Cook told CNBC that due in part to a stronger U.S. dollar, Apple would grow in most markets if it manages an 800 basis point foreign exchange headwind.

  Cook explained that the supply of iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max has been significantly reduced this quarter, which means that fewer products are sold to customers.

Apple warned investors in November about the impact of the outbreak on its iPhone assembly plants in China.

  "We issued an update on this on November 6th and it lasted through most of December," Cook said. However, Cook said that production has now returned to a level that Apple is satisfied with.

  Cook also revealed that Apple will soon open its first retail stores in India.

Due to India's large population, its mobile phone market has also attracted global mobile phone manufacturers. Apple has been trying to expand sales in India. Public information shows that Apple has already manufactured some iPhones in India.

  The fourth quarter of last year was also a cold winter for consumer electronics as a whole, and quarterly sales of all brands experienced a sharp decline.

Shipments in the fourth quarter of last year fell 18.3% year-on-year to just over 300 million units, according to market research firm IDC.

Shipments for the full year 2022 are down 11.3%, the lowest level in 10 years.

  Cook said the challenging macroeconomic environment hurt sales of iPhones, Macs and wearables like the Apple Watch.

Sales of iPhones and Macs were down year-over-year.

Apple's other product categories, which include headphones like AirPods and wearables like the Apple Watch, slumped more than 8%.

  Apple also provided some bright spots for investors.

Apple, for example, has 2 billion active devices, including iPhones, Macs, Apple Watches and other products.

That's up from the 1.8 billion active devices reported last January.

Cook said the increase in installs was due to people switching from Android to iPhones and buying Apple Watches for the first time.

  Based on Apple's huge active users, Apple's services business has grown steadily.

During the period, Apple's services business grew 6%, beating analysts' expectations.

  Apple management said cloud services, payments including Apple Pay and Apple Card, and music are important parts of the service.

Cook added that Apple employees are testing a "pay as you go" feature that will be part of the service.

  Since the end of last year, a number of US technology companies, including Microsoft and Meta, have begun laying off employees to cut expenses and costs.

Cook said Apple is cutting costs and hiring more slowly.

Unlike many rival technology companies, Apple has not announced layoffs.

"We also recognize that we're in a tough environment. So we're cutting costs. We're cutting hiring, and we're being very careful and deliberate about who we hire."

  As of the close of U.S. stocks on the 2nd, Apple rose 3.71% to close at $150.82, and fell nearly 4% after hours.