Big Tech

Apple, iPhone flies in India and share price hits all-time high on Wall Street

Revenues in the country are up 33% and Wall Street is buzzing with excitement: market cap at $3.61 trillion

15 July 2024

2' min read

That for Apple (but not only) India is the new Eldorado to explore and conquer, there is little doubt. This is borne out by the statistics on the country's growth, not only demographically. But also certain choices that the Cupertino giant has made in the last two years. And for Apple it is time to reap the rewards.

The annual sales figures in India have indeed set records. On the shelves, but also on the stock exchange.

Apple reaped nearly $8 billion from Indian sales in one year. A figure that highlights a rapidly growing market in which the iPhone manufacturer now assembles more devices and operates two main shops.

Apple's Indian revenues increased by about 33 per cent in the 12 months to March compared to $6 billion a year earlier, according to Bloomberg.

iPhones accounted for more than half of sales, signalling steady progress in Apple's effort to win users in the world's most populous country, whose consumers are gradually gaining more purchasing power as the economy expands.

The Cupertino company is targeting India as a way to diversify its sources of production and turnover. A commercial choice but also a geopolitical one, considering that China - the world's first iPhone factory - has become a bit of an unknown, due to trade tensions with the United States.

And the record sales in India turned into another day of great excitement for Apple on the stock exchange, with the stock hitting an all-time high of $236.53 in New York (with a market cap of over $3.6 trillion).

It has to be said that the Indian market is dominated by cheaper Chinese devices running Google's own Android operating system. And iPhones make up about 3.5% of the roughly 690 million smartphones in use in the country, according to Counterpoint Research. A small percentage, in short, but important when put into context: India is one of the fastest growing markets in the world.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is betting big on the country. He visited India last year to open the first two Apple Stores selling iPhones, iPads and MacBooks and other devices and accessories.

Apple is banking on the fact that India's ever-expanding middle class has already identified its devices as status symbols (a story that has happened many times before). If the plan materialises, the Cupertino giant could gradually reduce its dependence on Chinese sales, where revenues shrank in the last fiscal year to $72.6 billion, and where local competitors (such as Huawei and Xiaomi) are fiercer than ever.

Biagio SimonettaRedattore
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Lingue parlate: italiano, inglese
Argomenti: Finanza, Fintech, Silicon Valley, Tecnologia
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