The net profit of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Inc. fell almost 3% in the fourth quarter of 2016 and amounted to $ 17.9 billion, or $ 3.38 per share, compared with $ 18.4 billion, or $ 3.3 per share, for the same period a year earlier. The experts interviewed by the newspaper The Wall Street Journal, on average, had forecast the index at the level of $ 3.22 per share.
At the same time, Apple increased its revenue for the first four quarters, in particular, due to the high demand for the new iPhone model, launched by the company in September last year.
The company's revenue grew by 3% in October-December - to a record $ 78.4 billion.
The experts predicted the figure at $ 77.3 billion.
Last quarter, Apple sold 78.3 million iPhones, which is a historical record and 5% more than the previous year. The consensus forecast of analysts assumed that the sale of these devices will amount to 77 million. iPhone accounts for about two-thirds of Apple revenue.
The average price of iPhone in October-December was $ 695 versus $ 691 a year earlier.
In this way, Apple Inc for the first time in five years has regained the title of the world's largest seller of smartphones, beating the nearest competitor Samsung on the number of sold units per quarter.
The experts point out that, despite the continued increase in iPhone sales, growth rates are not as significant as in previous years. For comparison, in the fourth quarter of 2014 iPhone sales soared by 46%.
The weak spot of Apple is the Chinese market, where the company is facing high competition from local producers. Apple's sales in China fell 12% in the last quarter, to $ 16.2 billion.
Service revenues, including revenues from App Store, as well as music and payment services from Apple, increased in October-December by 18% - to $ 7.2 billion.
Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook in an interview with WSJ said that according to his estimates, service revenue will double over the next four years.
Apple's revenue from sales of iPad tablets has fallen by 22% in the last quarter, to $ 5.5 billion, revenue from sales of Mac computers increased by 7%, to $ 7.2 billion.