Does Apple’s quarterly report indicate it’s new era in India?

Apple just reported its largest quarter to date by revealing 2021 Q1 revenue. Soaring above $100 billion in sales, the brand noticed a rise of 21% YoY, crossing $65 billion in just one quarter. Undoubtedly the achievement is worth applause, and it has taken the entire tech industry by storm.

However, the credit doesn’t go to sales of the iPhone 12 lineup alone. Before we jump ahead and explore the critical factors in growth rate, let’s first look at some figures shared in the consolidated financial statement shared by Apple.

The chart indicates iPhone sales a significant reason behind the growth. But there’s more to what meets the eye!

Amidst the COVID time, PC market noticed a surge of 13% in sales. And Mac managed to be the highest gainer.

Apple noticed a growth of 49.2% compared to Lenovo, HP, and Dell who had to settle with a rise of 29%, 11.3%, and 26.8%, respectively. The tech giant’s closest follower is Acer Group, clinging right behind with a 48.3% growth rate.

Keeping aside quarterly growth, if we look at YoY growth in combined revenues of Mac and iPad, 2019 it was $47 billion, which touched almost $52.4 billion in FY 2020. This represents a growth of 11.5%.

While the unprecedented growth rate is luring numerous investors and analysts, it is also raising a question;

What’s the role of India in Apple’s growth?

Apple sold over a million devices for the first time in India. The revenue doubled in Q1 2021. The surge came as a blend of older iPhones like iPhone 11, XR, SE and massive interest in the iPhone 12 lineup. While the popularity of older iPhones is unprecedented, iPhone 12 grabbing the attention is worth mentioning considering its high price in the country. While sharing its quarterly report, Apple highlighted that international sales accounted for 64% of their overall sales.

Although the brand already had an appreciable customer base in the country, it further got the boost due to the launch of its dedicated online store.

Also, Apple has long term plans to expand its base in India. It currently has two manufacturing units of Foxconn and Wistron in the southern part of the country, and reports being registered in Chennai are also surfaced. It is believed that the tech giant will soon open its first physical outlet in the region, which will add impeccably to its sale considering this will drop down the prices in the future.

Looking at its current growth and plans, investors and analysts have one question in mind;

Is Apple still worth investing in?

I believe that the reason behind this question could be the unmatched inflation Apple attained in the last couple of years. In 2020 alone, it created several benchmarks and became the most valuable publicly-traded company. However, acknowledging that AAPL has crossed $140 will confuse people if it’s still worth investing in.

Well, in its first-quarter report, Apple revealed EPS (earnings per share) of $1.68. This came out after a tough year in which the entire globe was under lockdown, and companies were facing serve dropdowns. The primary reason behind the favorable results out of the unfavorable times is considered the COVID-inspired work-from-home trend.

All its product and service lineups are, directly and indirectly, connected and add to the end-users’ convenience. This can be further authenticated because, despite delayed launches in 2020, the brand earned a good profit and surpass its competitors.

Though Apple doesn’t release the unit sales after 2018, the percentage growth indicates a prosperous future. The most impressive part of this report is margin improvement. Though service margin has improved consistently over time, a firm hike in product margin is something that grabbed significant attention. This is indeed giving a good base for the future.

Technology investor Gene Muster said in an interaction with CNBC, “I see a reasonable path for Apple to reach a capitalization of $3 Trillion in the future.”

Needless to mention that earlier, Munster also foresaw Apple to become $2 trillion a few months before the company touched the mark. We can’t sideline the upcoming lineup and the way it is gaining acceptance from people worldwide; hence, it should be safe enough to invest in AAPL.

Besides these, supporting all the theories and predictions, a sudden surge in Apple’s Indian market can also be noticed. Analysts have their eyes on the country and brand plans.

What’s in the future?

The future does seem bright for the tech giant. Even if we don’t focus on rumors and leaks of Apple Car, foldable iPhones and other product releases send a positive message. Its growing market of iPad, M1-powered Macs and services further indicate a prosperous future for the tech giant.

Aligning to its expansion in India and future releases, it should be well enough to predict the brand to turn Gene’s prediction soon right.