Recall a recent online survey that revealed a notable decline in iPhone sales in the Chinese market. Undoubtedly, the surge of domestic high-end smartphones, epitomized by Huawei, has significantly pressured Apple, pushing its market share down to third place. However, Apple, being a global giant, remains resilient. While the Chinese market holds a crucial position, Apple's global footprint ensures high fault tolerance. When one market faces setbacks, it can swiftly recover through other markets, as evident in Apple's latest quarterly financial report.

As the world celebrated the Lunar New Year, visiting loved ones, Apple officially unveiled its FY25Q1 (representing the fourth quarter of 2024) financial report today. Its extraordinary profitability is truly remarkable, generating $124.3 billion (approximately RMB 901.3 billion) in revenue for the quarter, marking a 4% year-on-year increase from $119.6 billion in the same period last year.

Net profit stood at $36.3 billion, with a staggering profit margin of 29.2%. This achievement seems unattainable for other manufacturers. Notably, Apple's quarterly net profit surpasses the annual revenue of most competitors. The iPhone continues to be the primary revenue driver, contributing over half of the total revenue with $69.1 billion. Across major global markets, revenue in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions increased year-on-year, while revenue in Greater China declined from $20.8 billion to $18.5 billion, making it the only market with a revenue drop.

Europe recorded the highest revenue growth, increasing from $30.4 billion in the same period last year to $33.8 billion. Despite the underperformance in the Chinese market, Apple's strong showing in other markets propelled it to record-breaking financial performance. While the overall results are impressive, the slow growth in iPhone sales is a concern, potentially dampening outside optimism for future revenue growth. This is primarily attributed to a lack of innovation.

During the financial report meeting, Tim Cook addressed the future of the iPhone, acknowledging ample room for innovation. His statement hinted at exciting prospects for future iPhones while suggesting that Apple holds many innovative technologies in reserve. However, the question remains: if Apple can enhance the iPhone experience, why hasn't it done so sooner? Is it really that challenging to improve screen refresh rates and battery capacity?

Many find it puzzling that within the same price range, many domestic smartphones offer a superior experience to the iPhone. Situations often deemed unacceptable on Android phones are overlooked by Apple fans on the iPhone. As an Apple enthusiast, you might even welcome the decline in iPhone sales, as it could push Apple to intensify its innovation efforts. After all, why innovate when profits roll in effortlessly each year?

Lastly, I must ask: did you contribute to Apple's unprecedented quarterly financial report?