Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who himself is a go-getter and boasts of several accomplishments as an entrepreneur and visionary, was left wowed by one of tech giant Apple, Inc.‘s AAPL feats.
What Happened: Apple has been selling its flagship product – the iPhone – like never before, and Bloomberg journalist Jon Erlichman on Wednesday said on X that Cupertino’s iPhone sales rate is currently at 1.4 million units every two days.
To put things in perspective, he noted that it took the company one full year to sell that many phones in the first year of its launch.
Expressing his amazement, Musk said “wow” in reply.
Other social media users commented as well, with one saying it was “insane growth,” and another chimed in and said, “Crazy growth! Goes to show how quickly tech can scale when it hits the right notes with users.”
On the flipside, another had a cynical take on the achievement. “What is not often mentioned is that Apple sold the bulk of those phones to AT&T and then had to resell them. AT&T resells phones to smaller independent dealers that then got to ride the margin (if any) down as they became harder to move.”
“So yes. Apple sold that many phones, but it’s not quite that simple.”
See Also: How To Buy Apple (AAPL) Stock
Why It’s Important: Apple has stopped reporting iPhone unit sales, and in the June quarter, the product fetched $39.3 billion or roughly 46% of the total revenue. On the earnings call, CEO Tim Cook noted record iPhone sales in the developing markets of India, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE. The company also said its iPhone-installed user base rose to a new record in the June quarter.
The company first unveiled the iPhone on Jan. 9, 2007, with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs announcing it at Macworld 2007 in San Francisco, calling it a revolutionary product that is a combination of a phone, iPod and Internet communicator. It was made available to consumers on June 29, 2007 and was priced at $499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB model.
The product was an instant hit with consumers and turned out to be a revenue spinner. From $20.7 billion in 2006, the year ahead of the iPhone launch, Apple’s topline grew past $100 billion in 2011. iPhone revenues alone accounted for $200 billion in the 12 months that ended Sept. 2023. Much of Apple’s $3 trillion+ market cap is attributable to this hugely successful product.
Apart from generating a lion’s share of Apple’s revenue, the iPhone is primarily responsible for keeping the ecosystem sticky. An iPhone user is likely to buy an Apple Watch and an AirPod, and he will also likely spend more money on Apple Services such as iCloud, etc.
Apple is yet to zero in on its next biggest product since the iPhone. The VisionPro, which was launched earlier this year, did not live up to the hype due to many different reasons including its price and unwieldiness. The Apple Car project was shelved due to a lack of a path to profitability that commensurate with the investment.
All eyes are riveted on the iPhone 16, the iteration that will launch next week. The first phone from the company’s stable armed with Apple Intelligence is expected to kickstart a strong upgrade cycle and boost sales.
Apple ended Thursday’s session up 0.69% at $222.38, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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