India is key to Apple’s record quarter, as iPhone revenue defies price pressures

Apple delivered a record fiscal fourth-quarter performance, with global revenue up 12% year-on-year to $114.5 billion, despite not having a standard iPhone model in the current lineup.iPhone revenue in the September quarter stood at $57.6 billion, which is up 17% from a year ago despite supply constraints and foreign exchange headwinds (REUTERS)Apple chief executive officer John Ternus said the quarter has set an all-time record for the company in the Indian market, and pointed to the launch of Apple Pay with Axis Bank as a key milestone.Important numbers from Apple’s latest earnings call include the quarterly revenue of $114.5 billion, which is an increase of 12% year-on-year (YOY); iPhone revenue at $57.6 billion, which is up 17% from a year ago despite supply constraints and foreign exchange headwinds; Mac revenue at $10.8 billion, which is up 24% year-over-year despite supply constraints, and an all-time record for Services revenue at $31.6 billion which is up 10% YOY.“We grew in the vast majority of markets we tracked, setting September quarter records in the Americas, Europe, Greater China, and the rest of Asia-Pacific. We also set September quarter revenue records in both developed and emerging markets, in addition to an all-time record in India,” said John Ternus, Apple’s CEO, during the earnings call, noting that Apple intends to close the year with its “most ambitious lineup yet”.“That includes the iPhone Duo, the most transformational iPhone since the original, alongside iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, our most powerful iPhones yet.

We also just introduced a whole new generation of hardware for the home and brought Touch to Mac for the first time. Together with the all-new Siri AI, it’s an incredible lineup to carry us into the holiday season,” Ternus added.Apple’s current iPhone lineup on sale includes the iPhone 18 Pro series, the iPhone Duo foldable, the iPhone Air, iPhone 17, iPhone 17e, and the iPhone 16.Like every other phone maker, Apple eventually had to raise prices for its existing phones on sale due , including higher memory and storage prices—an inflation driven by artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure demand.

The estimated shipping dates for the iPhone Duo extend into early 2027.The iPhone momentum comes from the current-generation iPhone 18 Pro series as well as Apple’s first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo.“The iPhone active installed base grew to an all-time high, and iPhone had a record year for upgraders globally and in several markets, including the U.S., China Mainland, India, and Japan. According to a recent survey from World Panel, iPhone was a top-selling model in the U.S., urban China, India, the UK, Germany, Australia, and Japan,” noted Kevan Parekh, Apple’s chief financial officer.Momentum in India, and countering headwindsApple has set an all-time September record across most product categories, despite significant supply-chain inflation that made the current generation of products much more expensive than the one it succeeds.

At the same time, they’ve faced headwinds (as most tech companies have in this quarter) including currency conversion variances in many regions and despite supply chain inflation, an additional complication of component shortages.John Ternus highlighted India’s importance for Apple in India, particularly for the iPhone lineup.“Turning to our lineup, iPhone revenue was $57.6 billion for the September quarter, up 17% from a year ago despite supply constraints and foreign exchange headwinds. We grew strong double digits in the U.S. and Greater China to achieve September quarter revenue records.

We also set a September quarter record for upgraders worldwide as well as in the U.S., China mainland, and India, helping to deliver our best fiscal year ever for upgraders globally,” he said.Parekh also stressed India’s importance to the Mac portfolio as well. The affordable MacBook Neo continues to be popular, and recent additions to the portfolio include a new MacBook Pro, a first-touch MacBook Pro with a PROLED XDR display, as well as generational upgrades for the Mac mini and Mac Studio with new M-series chips.“One of the highlights of the earnings call was seeing India show up across such a diverse range of data points: record iPhone upgraders, all-time Mac records, an all-time Services record, iPhone ranking among the top-selling models, and the launch of Apple Pay.

Consumer aspirations remain Apple’s biggest tailwind in India, and easy financing, trade-ins, channel expansion and local manufacturing are turning that aspiration into actual purchases,” noted Tarun Pathak, Counterpoint’s Research Director, told HT.According to Counterpoint Research’s latest numbers, the iPhone 17 was the top-shipped model in India during Q3, and the MacBook Neo had a record quarter for sales. Although iPhone shipments declined YoY, Apple’s average selling price (ASP) in India hit an all-time high, surpassing $1,000 during the quarter.“India is moving from an iPhone growth market to a full ecosystem market for Apple, and we expect that shift to accelerate in 2027 and beyond as the installed base expands,” said Pathak.Apple also set Services revenue records in several markets including India and Latin America.

The launch of Apple Pay with Axis Bank is a key highlight in India.