Apple made a ton of money in the final days of 2019 as sales from the App Store totaled a whopping $1.4 billion. The sales according to Apple was between Christmas Eve and New Years’s Eve, a 16 percent increase over the same period in 2018.
As a result, Apple Inc. shares hit a new high on Wednesday. The stock rose as much as 1.6%.
The App Store is the world’s safest and most vibrant app marketplace, with over half a billion people visiting each week. According to Apple, It remains the safest place for users to find software and provides developers of all sizes access to customers in 155 countries.
Since the App Store launched in 2008, developers have earned over $155 billion, with a quarter of those earnings coming from the past year alone.
Experts say, rising spending on apps, and the success of wearables such as AirPods, highlight Apple’s ability to generate more revenue despite sluggish iPhone growth.
Gene Munster, a veteran Apple analyst and founder of Loup Ventures, said the App Store data are more evidence that Apple’s services expansion isn’t directly linked to iPhone sales, supporting his argument that the company’s shares should trade at a higher price-to-earnings multiple.
Apple Inc in a blog post on their website stated: “2019 was the biggest year for Services in Apple’s history. We introduced several exciting new experiences for our customers, all while setting the standard for user privacy and security,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We begin the new decade with incredible momentum and gratitude to our customers who have shown such enthusiasm for all of our Services, and we continue to celebrate the work of the world’s best creators, storytellers, journalists and developers.”
Apple also said App Store spending on the first day of 2020 reached $386 million, a single-day record and a 20% increase from last year.
Source: Bloomberg
