Apple achieves all-time revenue record in India: CEO Tim Cook

Apple has achieved an all-time revenue record in India in the September quarter (Q3), said its CEO Tim Cook, adding that there is a lot of headroom to grow in the country where “a lot of people are moving into the middle class”.

During the company’s quarterly earnings call late on Thursday, where Apple said it posted quarterly revenue of $89.5 billion, the iPhone maker grew in very strong double digits in India in the July-September quarter (which also new iPhone 15 series sales which started on September 22).

“We achieved an all-time revenue record in India as well as September quarter records in several countries, including Brazil, Canada, France, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, Vietnam and more,” said Cook.

“In services, we set an all-time revenue record with double-digit growth and ahead of our expectations,” he added.

In response to an analyst question on momentum in India, Cook said that India is “an incredibly exciting market for them and a major focus” for the company.

“We have a low share in a large market and so it would seem that there’s a lot of headroom there. We see an extraordinary market — a lot of people moving into the middle class,” the Apple CEO noted.

“Lots of positives, we put two retail stores there and they are doing better than we anticipated — it’s still early going but they are off to a good start and I couldn’t be happier with how things are going at the moment,” he added.

Apple’s revenue in India hit nearly Rs 50,000 crore in FY23, with sales increasing 48 per cent to Rs 49,321 crore and net profit rising 76 per cent to Rs 2,229 crore.

The company recorded its highest-ever quarterly shipments in India, crossing 2.5 million units, in the third quarter (July-September period) this year.

Luca Maestri, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Apple, said that the company reached a September quarter record on iPhone, driven by strength in emerging markets.

“Our total installed-base of active devices, reached an all-time high across all products and all geographic segments. Thanks to our high levels of customer satisfaction and many new customers joining our ecosystem,” said Maestri.

“We are expanding our direct presence with new Apple Retail Stores in India to online stores in Vietnam and Chile,” he added.