Apple’s profits nearly doubled in the latest quarter, showing that the world’s richest and most valuable public company is exhibiting little sign of slowing down.
Apple said on Tuesday that its profits increased 93 percent to $21.7 billion in its fiscal third quarter compared with a year earlier, while sales rose 36 percent to $81.4 billion, both outpacing analysts’ expectations.
The company has posted growth rates in recent quarters that resemble a much smaller upstart rather than a corporate titan worth nearly $2.5 trillion. It has been fueled by people buying even more of its devices than usual during the pandemic, as they became more reliant on technology to work, study and socialize.
Apple said its iPhone sales grew 50 percent to $39.6 billion, a quarterly increase that was high by even its lofty standards. The increase was particularly surprising considering the company is set to release new phones in September, which often causes many people to wait to buy new iPhones.
IPhone sales had declined in recent years in a saturated smartphone market, but the pandemic mostly changed that. The April through June period was the third consecutive quarter of double-digit increases in iPhone sales, with much of the growth coming from existing customers upgrading their phones.
Apple sold more of all of its other products, including iPads, Macs and wearable devices such as the Apple Watch and AirPods. The company’s sales also increased in every geographic area, led by its Greater China region, with 58 percent growth, the third consecutive quarter in which sales increased by more than 50 percent there.
