Apple achieved record smartphone revenue and profits in Q2 2023 despite the global market decline

During Q2 2023, a global downturn in the smartphone market was evident, with revenues experiencing an 8% Year-over-Year (YoY) decline and a substantial 15% Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ) drop. This marked the lowest Q2 performance since 2020, a period coinciding with the peak of the pandemic.

However, amid this challenging landscape, Apple managed to achieve new milestones in smartphone revenue and operating profit during the June quarter of Q2 2023, as reported by Counterpoint’s Market Monitor Service.

In line with the prevailing global market trend, Apple's own revenue faced a 2% YoY dip, demonstrating a relatively more resilient performance compared to the broader 8% decline observed. Impressively, despite the adverse conditions, Apple's global revenue share surged to a second-quarter record of 45%, exhibiting a remarkable increase of almost 3% from the same period in the previous year.

Similarly, the prevailing trend of declining global operating profits, with a 3% YoY drop and a significant 27% QoQ decline, was also reflected. However, Apple defied this trend by expanding its share of global operating profits by an impressive 4% since Q2 2022, reaching an exceptional record of 85%, further establishing its dominance.

This shift in revenue and operating profit can be attributed to the notable increase in the Average Selling Price (ASP) of Apple's iPhone lineup. This was chiefly driven by the growing influence of the Pro series, a decline in the prominence of the SE series, and the strategic replacement of the Mini in iPhone 13 with a Plus model in iPhone 14.

It's worth highlighting that Apple's commanding 85% share in Operating Profit and 45% share in revenue notably surpasses Samsung's figures of 12% Operating profit share and 17% revenue share. This disparity is striking, especially considering that Samsung leads in terms of overall smartphone shipments.