Apple executive director, Tim Cooksaid Thursday that most of the iPhones Sold in the United States in the current fiscal quarter they will come from India, while iPads and other devices will come from Vietnam, while the company works to avoid the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on his business.
Apple’s profits during the first three months of the year exceeded Wall Street expectations thanks to the high demand of its iPhones, and the company said the tariffs had a limited effect on the results of the second fiscal quarter.
Cook added that for the current quarter, assuming that things do not change, Apple hopes to see 900 million dollars added to its costs as a result of tariffs, But Cook said the company is still “confident” in this business.
The company based in Cupertino, Californiaearned 24,780 million dollars, or $ 1.65 per share, in the first three months of the year, 4.8% more than the 23,640 million dollars, or $ 1.53 per share, of the same period of the previous year.
Income increased 5.1% to 95,360 million dollars from 90,750 million dollars.
The analysts, on average, expected profits of $ 1.62 per share of USD 94.19 billion, according to a Factset survey.
The January-March period figures offer a snapshot of how Apple was going before President Trump announced in April radical tariffs that shook financial markets In the midst of fears that a commercial war will revive inflation and push the US economy to a recession.
“While it is likely that part of the growth of sales would be due to the fact that Consumers accelerated their purchases before the planned tariff increasesthe margins remained healthy in the general balance, ”he said Thomas Monteiro, Investing.com analyst. He added that the company “still has a maneuver margin” regardless of the economic context and “probably does not need to significantly reduce its cash reserves to continue advancing.”
Apple’s dependence on Chinese factories To manufacture its iPhones and other devices he placed it at the point of sight of Trump’s commercial war. This exhibition caused the price of Apple shares to collapse 23% shortly after the president announced the severity of reciprocal tariffs, which temporarily erased 773 billion dollars from the assets of his shareholders.
Most of these losses have been recovered since then after Trump temporarily exempts iPhones and other products Electronics of reciprocal tariffs, but Apple’s shares continue to fall almost 5% from the avalanche of April tariffs.
In addition to the commercial war, Apple has been harmed by its inability to live up to its own expectations around the artificial intelligence functions in the line iPhone 16 That the past fall came out.
The technology was not ready when the iPhone 16 went on sale. Some functions of IA They have been implemented in some parts of the world as part of software updates, but Apple has not yet fulfilled its original promise to make Siri smarter and more versatile. These errors led Apple to withdraw advertising campaigns that promoted the advances of AI on the iPhone, although the company still plans to launch more functions based on this technology in the future.
Apple had its late incorporation into the AI boom to reactivate the iPhone demand, after the 2% drop in last year sales with respect to 2023 levels. Apple announced Wednesday that its telephone sales increased 1.9%, to 46,840 million dollars, during the first three months of the year. Wall Street waited for sales from the iPhone of 45,620 million dollars.
However, the company continues to see a decline in its business in China, with a drop in income in the Grand China region of 2.3%, to the 16,000 million dollars, In the quarter. Other regions, such as America, Europe and the rest of Asia, experienced an increase in sales.
When Trump initially indicated that his tariffs 145% On the products manufactured in China they would apply to the iPhone, US consumers went to stores to buy new devices instead of risking prices to shoot after the increase in tariffs. But the wave of panic purchases will not manifest until Apple presents its results from the April-June quarter of this summer.
Trump’s commercial war has increased Pressure on cook to use the same diplomatic trick that allowed the iPhone to avoid being affected by the Chinese tariffs that the president imposed during his first government.
Cook pointed out his intention to maintain a good relationship with Trump organizing private meetings with him and Personally donating a million dollars to the second investiture ceremony of the president before sitting at the podium when Trump assumed the position on January 20. Subsequently, Apple announced plans to invest 500,000 million dollars in the United States and hire 20,000 workers over the next four years.
Trump’s commercial war is also promoting Apple to transfer all the production of the iPhones that sells in China to Indiawhere the company has been strengthening its supply chain during the last seven years, according to a recent article of the Financial Times. However, the complex logistics of a transfer of such size will probably not be completed until next year, as very soon, which leaves Apple vulnerable to the fluctuations of Trump’s commercial war.
Apple shares fell USD 5.81, or 2.7%, at USD 207.51 in operations after closing.
(With AP information)
