Skip to main content

Apple sees first year-over-year revenue decline in 13 years on falling iPhone, Mac sales

apple second quarter 2016 abc wwdc logo 130610 wg
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Apple has posted its second quarter earnings for 2016, and it shows the first year-over-year revenue decline in 13 years.

Apple’s revenue for the second quarter, which ended in March, was $50.6 billion, a 13 percent decline from last year. The quarter’s net income also went down from last year’s $13.6 billion to 10.5 billion, which comes out to be $1.90 a share. The company’s gross margin dipped from 2015’s 40.8 percent, to 39.4 percent.

“Our team executed extremely well in the face of strong macroeconomic headwinds,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the announcement. “We are very happy with the continued strong growth in revenue from Services, thanks to the incredible strength of the Apple ecosystem and our growing base of over one billion active devices.”

The blame can be pointed to falling sales of the Cupertino company’s premier product, the iPhone. Apple shipped 51.2 million iPhones in the second quarter of this year, which is down 16 percent from the 61.2 million it shipped last year.

Mac and iPad sales are also down, resembling a downward trend in the market. Macs went from 4.6 million last year to 4 million, and iPads sunk from 12.6 million units to 10.3 million.

But it’s not all bad news. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the earnings call that the company has added more switchers (customers who used to own a device from another company) in first half of this year than any other six month period. And Apple is doing really well with its services, as revenue reached its highest ever: $6 billion, up 20 percent from last year.

That accounts for App Store revenue, which is up 35 percent, and Apple Music has reached 13 million paying customers, up from the 11 million it had in February of this year. Sales of the Apple Watch surpassed those of the iPhone in its first year as well, meeting expectations. Apple Pay’s expansion into China and Singapore also helped — the company says its customers have access to more than 10 million contact-less payment locations, with 2.5 million just in the U.S.

If you’re wondering how the iPhone SE impacts these numbers — it doesn’t. The company hasn’t recorded the results yet, as the 4-inch phone launched after the end of the second quarter. Cook says demand has surpassed supply, and the company is working hard to ship devices.

The company has projected its June quarter revenue to fall between $41 to $43 billion, which is down again from 2015.

Julian Chokkattu
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…
iOS 18 is official. Here’s how it’s going to change your iPhone forever
Screenshots of new features in iOS 18.

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here: iOS 18 has just been announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024 keynote. And, like the rumors have been saying, this is a very big, juicy update for your iPhone.

There's been a lot of anticipation for iOS 18. Rumors and leaks for the new update have been particularly intense this year, more so than iOS 17 rumors last year. So, was the hype worth it? Here's what's coming to your iPhone with iOS 18.
Home screen changes

Read more
MacOS 15 will completely change how you use your iPhone
An iPhone being mirrored on a MacBook.

Apple just announced macOS 15 at WWDC 2024. Called macOS Sequoia, the updated operating system brings a suite of new features to Macs this fall. The key change, however, is a new Continuity feature that allows you to mirror your iPhone on your Mac, from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio.

Although iPhone mirroring takes center stage, there are a ton of new features in MacOS 15. Here are all of them.
iPhone mirroring

Read more
Here’s how iOS 18 is going to overhaul your iPhone’s email app
An iPhone showing the home screen in someone's hand.

We're just days away from Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2024), which means we're about to get our first look at iOS 18. The new iPhone operating system is expected to get RCS texting in the iMessage app, more customization options for the home screen, and maybe a significant design change overall. Now comes word that changes will be made to the native Mail app.

According to AppleInsider, the Mail app is about to undergo a significant transformation. It's getting a powerful new search tool, Smart Replies, automatic sorting for different email types, and more. But the real excitement lies in the app's expected integration of AI functionality, a feature becoming a hallmark of iOS 18.

Read more