Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) sold 74.5 million iPhones as part of a quarter that has been described as the largest for any company based on net income in the history of U.S. companies. It is hard to put the number in perspective. Based on CIA Factbook numbers, the population of Iran is just over 80 million. That, of course, includes people too young to know what a smartphone is or how to use one.
The sales of iPhones and iPads, Macs and Apple’s other consumer electronics devices, mixed in with software and media, totaled $74.6 billion. That is an annual run rate of $300 billion. And that is as high as the gross domestic product of Colorado, which was $284 billion in 2013.
Among the most extraordinary things analysts pointed out about Apple’s earnings is that they show no sign of peaking. The counterargument is that iPhone ownership is so high in the United States as to be near saturation, at least for expensive smartphones. Against that is the fact that penetration in China is low. Apple’s largest carrier partner in China is China Mobil Ltd. (NYSE: CHL), which has 800 million customers. However, Apple is up against its major enemy Samsung in the People’s Republic, as well as home team smartphone company Xiaomi.
Optimists about Apple’s future believe that a tapering of the sales growth of the iPhone is no reason for concern. An Apple Watch will be so popular that a rise in its sales will offset any weakness in iPhone sales. Then Apple will have another device after that, and then another. The success will stretch for decades, and fans of the company would argue longer.
Maybe Apple iPhone sales will race above 90 million, which is close to the total population of Germany. That comparison is staggering, particularly because not everyone in Germany has an iPhone — yet.
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