“Apple’s fiscal 4Q17 was one of the company’s most solid quarters in recent memory – the widest top- and bottom-line beats since the March 2015 period,” D.M. Martins writes for Seeking Alpha. “However one chooses to look at the numbers, whether by product category or geography, Apple seems to have lavishly outperformed, at least compared to prior periods.”
“But I was particularly excited to see one of my old, long-forgotten catalysts show signs of having a pulse once again: Greater China,” Martins writes. “The region delivered YOY growth of +11.6% that had not been achieved since fiscal 1Q16 (see graph below). Granted, the improvement was over a dismal fiscal 4Q16 quarter that saw sales nosedive by -30% after two equally soft quarters. Still, the geographic segment is so relevant for total company revenues that returning to growth in the region might have been the most important positive development in the September quarter.”
“I believe China will once again catch analysts’ and investors’ attention, after six quarters of dismal performance. Whether momentum will be carried forward remains to be seen. Hong Kong is an improving but still soft spot, and FX headwinds can always blow in the company’s face. But I suspect that Apple is better equipped in terms of its product portfolio to address the needs of a very large, very diverse demographic group,” Martins writes. “All accounted for, I continue to be very bullish on Apple for the next several quarters at least.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The return to growth in China is indicative of a very healthy Apple!
SEE ALSO:
IDC: Apple bounces back in China with 7.3% YOY growth in Q317 smartphone unit share – November 6, 2017
It’s not just China. Apple is taking India very seriously too and there is a lot of potential for Apple to do business there.
to the iPh trend reversal, and it’s going to be a giddy-up year (hopefully TC and crew will press for ’18, not ’19). 1st things 1st: Christmas season.
Here’s the question:
Q: Can the mimics of China: Criminal Nation foist a mostly adequate facsimile of the latest iPhone on the sucker segment of the public?
A: In the case of the iPhone X, the answer is NO. Therefore, the iPhone X grabs marketshare in China away from the ripoff device makers.
There IS actually a ripoff iPhone X which was shoved into the market before Apple’s own release. But any child can identify its dire inadequacy, despite all the hard work done stealing every available feature from Apple. Watch and laugh:
China has long had a lot of fake products of all types on the market. However few who buy fakes are being deceived about what they are buying, they know that it isn’t the real deal and the price reflects that. The people who can afford genuine iPhones would never settle for a fake and those who buy fakes can’t afford genuine ones. While having fake iPhones on sale is a minor irritation, it doesn’t really affect Apple in any meaningful manner.
China has a staggering number of cellphone users, but a significant aspect is that all the popular apps are Chinese. Just as westerners used to imagine that Internet Explorer was the Internet, many Chinese regard WeChat or Tencent’s QQ as the Internet. The WeChat Wallet payment system is used very widely indeed on cellphones. Not only that, but the Chinese are rapidly expanding their influence into Africa, where WeChat Wallet is becoming established. It’s particularly appealing in developing countries because it works within a cash-based society and doesn’t require users to have any form of bank account.
China is particularly sophisticated in the way it expands into other countries and anybody who keeps an eye on China can see that they are cleverly playing a long game in a world where most others are concentrating on a short game or just playing silly games. Most of noticed that Apple had to significantly change it’s approach to doing business in order to gaining a foothold in China, where people have different customs and traditions. Apple is in the process of adapting to the Indian way of business too, but China understands how local ways of doing business are important to them and when they deal with countries like Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa, they respect local expertise and make significant changes for that market instead of just trying duplicate what worked at home. It’s reassuring to observe that Apple is one of the few western companies which also works in that way as it bodes well for a global future.
The incredible efforts to make the fake iPhone X look like the real iPhone X, superficially, is stunning! That’s a lot of devotion to fakery, ripoff striving for perfection.
“There’s a sucker born every minute” and there are ever those who seek to impress others with the crap cloaked in an illusion of quality. But I agree that in the final calculation, those who buy crap for whatever reason are highly unlikely to have bought the real quality object of desire. There are exceptions, such as Leo Laporte, who buys a variety of stuff for the sake of comparison reviews and demonstrations. It’s interesting to hear the opinions of such techno-mavens. They help us determine whether there is REAL competition in the marketplace, as opposed to mere fraud versus invention.
Alan, this is one of the most insightful posts I’ve ever read here at MDN. I don’t want to respond to your China comments as they are so insightful. It’s a pleasure to chat with you, as ever. Thank you for catalyzing my brain. 😀