Imagine a startup with $12 billion of revenue, 125%+ YoY revenue growth (two years in a row), and Apple-esque gross margins (30-50%). Without knowing anything else about the business, what would you value it at? $50 billion? $100 billion? More?
That’s Apple’s AirPods business… AirPods sales are growing at triple digit rates each year. In 2018, AirPods revenue grew 133% over 2017, and in 2019 AirPods revenue was up another 128% over 2018.
This is what AirPods revenue looks like compared to some of the world’s top tech companies. AirPods make as much money as Spotify, Twitter, Snap, and Shopify *combined*. And considering their triple-digit growth two years in a row, I would be shocked if AirPods didn’t earn more money than Uber in 2020.
MacDailyNews Take: Plus, as Rooke notes, there is huge headroom remaining for AirPods as there are sales of only some 110 million AirPods units so far, into an installed base of 900+ million iPhones. Also, don’t forget Apple’s Beats headphones sales.
We look forward with great anticipation to the AirPods App Store or at least a section in the App Store for audio-first apps.