After Netflix Inc, Microsoft Corp and other technology giants$Apple (AAPL.US)$It also admitted to being hit by a stronger dollar when it released its results.

The results showed that in the third quarter of the iPhone product release, Apple Inc's overall revenue and profit growth was stronger than Wall Street expected, while iPhone sales were slightly lower than expected, with a growth rate of nearly 10%.

After the release of the results, Apple Inc CEO Cook mentioned the impact of the exchange rate, saying that had it not been for the strengthening of the US dollar, Apple Inc's third-quarter revenue would have had double-digit growth. He said:

There was a foreign exchange headwind of more than 600 basis points in the quarter. So it has a big impact. Without the headwind of foreign exchange, we could have grown by double digits. "

Luca Maester, Apple Inc's chief financial officer (CFO), also blamed the slowdown in the services business partly on foreign exchange effects.

Before Apple Inc's earnings report was announced after the session, Amazon.Com Inc took the lead in announcing the three-quarter report, which reflected that the performance had been dragged down by the strength of the US dollar and macro uncertainty. Apple Inc's share price, which closed down more than 3 per cent, followed Amazon.Com Inc's after-hours plunge and continued to fall. After the announcement of Apple Inc's own financial results, the stock price accelerated its decline, falling nearly 5% in after-hours trading, rebounding and returning to the downtrend after rising, and is now rising slightly.

Better-than-expected growth in total revenue and earnings in the third quarter is significantly stronger than that in the second quarter, yet no performance guidance has been provided.

After US stocks traded on Thursday, 27th US Eastern time, Apple Inc announced that in the third quarter of this year ending September 24th of the Gregorian calendar, that is, the fourth quarter of the company's fiscal year 2022 (hereinafter referred to as the third quarter), the company's total revenue and earnings were higher than analysts' expectations. and significantly stronger than the performance of the previous quarter, that is, the second quarter.

• Operating revenue in the third quarter was $90.146 billion, an all-time high for revenue in the third quarter, up 8.14% from a year earlier. Analysts expect $88.64 billion and 2% year-on-year growth in the second quarter, the lowest single-quarter growth rate since the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in 2020.

• Net profit in the third quarter was $20.721 billion, also a record high for the same period, up 0.83% from a year earlier, while net profit in the second quarter fell 10.6% from a year earlier.

• Diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $1.29 in the third quarter, up 4 per cent from a year earlier, while analysts expected $1.26, down 8 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier and the first negative EPS growth since the third quarter of 2020.

• Gross profit in the third quarter was $38.095 billion, up 8.3 per cent from a year earlier, higher than analysts' expectations of $37.31 billion and 1.8 per cent year-on-year growth in the second quarter.

Apple Inc still did not provide performance guidance, and Apple Inc has failed to provide performance guidance when the quarterly report was released since the outbreak in 2020, blaming the uncertainty on the outlook.

Apple Inc CFO Maester commented that the company continued to invest in long-term growth plans in the third quarter, with operating cash flow of US $24 billion and returns of more than US $29 billion to shareholders. He also mentioned that under Apple Inc's strong ecosystem, customer loyalty and record sales incentives, Apple Inc's activation and installation of equipment reached an all-time high in the third quarter.

IPhone sales are slightly lower than expected Mac revenue is much higher than expected iPad and services are inferior

In terms of business, the revenue of Apple Inc's main product, iPhone, was slightly lower than expected in the third quarter, with an increase of nearly 10% as expected. revenue from Mac computers and wearable devices and accessories soared and far exceeded expectations, while revenue from iPad tablets fell more than market expectations, and revenue growth in the service business was far less than expected, and growth slowed significantly compared with the second quarter.

• Third-quarter iPhone revenue was $42.626 billion, up 9.67 per cent from a year earlier, and analysts expect growth of 9.78 per cent to $42.67 billion and nearly 2 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter.

• Mac revenue in the third quarter was $11.508 billion, up 25.39% from a year earlier, and analysts expect it to grow 0.78% to $9.25 billion, down 10% in the second quarter from a year earlier.

• IPad revenue in the third quarter was $7.174 billion, down 13.06% from a year earlier, and analysts expect it to fall 5.36% to $7.81 billion and 2.4% in the second quarter from a year earlier.

• Revenue from wearable devices, household products and accessories was $9.65 billion in the third quarter, up 9.85 per cent from a year earlier, while analysts expect an increase of 0.17 per cent to $8.8 billion and an 8.2 per cent decline in the second quarter.

• Revenue from the services business, including App Store, was $19.19 billion in the third quarter, up 4.98% from a year earlier, and analysts expect an increase of 9.26% to $19.97 billion in the third quarter and 12% in the second quarter.

IPhone 14 Pro demand is strong and supply is limited

After the launch of the new iPhone 14 series in September this year, Apple Inc more than once had the news of adjusting production due to the sluggish demand for basic iPhone 14 models. At the end of last month, the media said that Apple Inc had abandoned the iPhone 14 production plan, and last week there was news that Apple Inc cut production in the iPhone 14 Plus less than two weeks after its launch.

Strictly speaking, the third quarter really belongs to the iPhone 14 new product sales time is only about two weeks. However, iPhone sales in the third quarter were roughly in line with Wall Street's strong growth expectations. This may confirm what analysts had expected that the basic iPhone 14 model was weak because consumers preferred the iPhone 14 Pro, a high-end phone with more advanced chips and better camera performance.

JPMorgan Chase & Co analysts had estimated that, unlike the basic models of the iPhone 12 and 13 series and the Pro model, sales of the Pro model would account for 60 per cent of the iPhone 14 series.

After the release of the three quarterly reports, Apple Inc CFO Maestri said that supply was limited due to strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro models. Apple Inc is trying to meet the demand. Apple Inc is also dealing with supply constraints caused by strong demand for smartwatch Apple Watch Ultra.

Revenue in major regional markets only declined in Japan compared with the same period last year.

From a regional point of view, Apple Inc's sales revenue in most of the major markets increased in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, but only in Japan, of which:

• Revenue in the Americas was $39.808 billion in the third quarter, up 8.12 per cent year-on-year and 4.5 per cent in the second quarter.

• European revenue in the third quarter was $22.795 billion, up 9.62 per cent year-on-year and 1.8 per cent in the second quarter.

• Revenue in Greater China rose $15.47 billion in the third quarter, up 6.23 per cent from a year earlier, and fell 1.1 per cent in the second quarter.

• Japan's revenue in the third quarter was $5.7 billion, down 4.86% from a year earlier, and nearly 16% in the second quarter from a year earlier.

• Revenue from other Asia-Pacific regions totaled US $6.373 billion in the third quarter, up 22.75% from the same period last year, and 14% in the second quarter.

There are comments that revenue in Greater China, the third-largest market, fell short of analysts' expectations of $15.65 billion in the third quarter, which may be one reason for the market's disappointment.

The lowest growth rate of service business revenue in a single quarter CFO is partly attributed to the impact of foreign exchange.

Apple Inc's service business recorded the slowest quarterly revenue growth in history in the third quarter.

Apple Inc CFO Maestri said the slowdown in services revenue was due to the impact of foreign exchange and a slowdown in digital advertising and games.

Before the announcement of the results, some media pointed out that investors were increasingly worried about the slowdown in the growth of Apple Inc's service business, because after iPhone has become a more mature product, service is an important area of Apple Inc's business diversification. Some analysts regard Apple Inc's service business as a leading indicator of consumer demand. In other words, the service business reflects the situation of consumer demand earlier than iPhone sales.

CFO says the macro economy is challenging and volatile. CEO says it is slowing down hiring.

When announcing the second-quarter results in July this year, Apple Inc CEO Cook said that Apple Inc had not found any signs of negative macroeconomic factors affecting iPhone sales in his internal data.

After the release of the three-quarter report, Apple Inc CFO Maester mentioned the unfavorable factor of macro-economy, saying:

The record performance in the third quarter continues to demonstrate Apple Inc's ability to execute effectively in a challenging and volatile macroeconomic environment.

Cook also said after the announcement of the results that Apple Inc had slowed down the pace of recruitment. The media suggest that this is the impact of the macro environment, as other technology companies are seeking layoffs in the face of a possible recession and central bank interest rate hikes. Cook said

"We are recruiting deliberately. So we have slowed down the pace of recruitment. "