Roger Fingas
Apple assembly partner Hon Hai — better known as Foxconn — has posted net income of $2.5 billion for the December quarter, reportedly linked to strong orders and consequent sales of the iPhone X.
The figure exceeded the roughly $2 billion anticipated, Bloomberg said. Foxconn is highly dependent on Apple, from which it's thought to generate over half its revenue, much of that from iPhones. The manufacturer didn't break down its latest results by company or product.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has asserted that the iPhone X sold well during the critical holiday season. Both before and after the phone's launch, there have been fears that its high cost — starting at $999, before any upgrades, warranties, or accessories — could steer people towards Android or cheaper iPhones.
Specifically, Cook said that the iPhone X was the company's best-selling iPhone since the early November launch, all the way up to the day of the last quarterly earnings report on Feb. 1.
Most recently, Cowen and Company analyst Karl Ackerman suggested that iPhone X production has met expectations, but could drop lower.
RBC Capital Markets' Amit Daryanani recently claimed that Apple has had "limited success" pitching the iPhone X at its current price, and might sell this fall's follow-up for $899 instead. A bigger 6.5-inch OLED iPhone might sell for $999.
it isn't certain where either analyst sourced the data that they used to reach their conclusions. Every first quarter has a reduction in iPhone orders because of seasonality, and that "reduction" may be being misinterpreted by the analysts as an unusual one.
For people unwilling to spend either sum on a smartphone, Apple is expected to ship a 6.1-inch LCD model that may nevertheless have Face ID and an edge-to-edge display, unlike the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
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29 Comments
If all true than guess what can happen end of year and next year when 3 iPhones with better price point comes out ?
Does Foxconn get paid that much more just assembling an iPhone X vs. an iPhone 8 or an iPhone 7? Apple sources most of its components directly so Foxconn isn't making a profit off the higher cost A11 processor, the AMOLED screen, or the FaceID module. I can see overall iPhone orders affecting revenue, but attributing that revenue to a specific model is quite a leap of logic.
It all boils down to you want to believe. A third or fourth hand rumour from someone that may work at a factory that might make something connected with iPhones, that says he might have seen fewer pallets coming and going than he would have expected, and then published on a news site with a poor track record? Or the official filings of profits for the quarter made by company executives to their shareholders? That’s why I don’t get worried about these “iPhoneX is a failure” rumours. I concider the source.
All these sites just keep repeating rank speculation from analysts. I don't blame the "analysts," as they don't seem to be claiming its anything other than their opinion for the most part. It's the various web sites, desperate for material and clicks , that put out what is essentially fake news. They are also incentivized to repeat them because the "APPLE IS DOOMED" headline attracts more clicks.
But don't thank Apple or iPhone. Operating profit sucked.
Instead, Hon Hai juiced the numbers with a spree of highly profitable asset disposals during the quarter.