Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Bank of America said on Monday that more than 60 days into its fiscal second quarter, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is still witnessing “muted” growth in the App Store. Bank of America’s statement was made public on Monday.
An analyst named Wamsi Mohan highlighted, concerning data from a third party called Sensor Tower, that as of March 1, the company’s sales had increased by just 0.5% over the previous year, with China showing growth of 1.5% over the previous year. The total number of downloads has remained relatively high, with downloads for the iPhone and iPad only increasing by 0.8% compared to the previous year.
Mohan said in an analyst letter that “so far in the March quarter, we have seen app store dollars per download climb 1.3% [year-over-year].” “We are still concerned about an overall fall in consumer demand,” you said.
Mohan also said in February that Apple saw “muted” growth in the App Store.
As Mohan dug a little further, he discovered that the revenue associated with gaming has decreased by 6.4% year-over-year to $2.5B for the quarter. This accounts for around 56% of overall App Store income, down from 60% in the same period the previous year. But, China has experienced a resurgence, up 2.3% year-over-year as of March 1, even as game downloads in the nation have dropped 20% year-over-year.
In addition to the 88 domestic games that were given the green light in January, China’s gaming regulatory body approved 87 different games in China last month.
Mohan anticipates that Apple stock will see a “re-acceleration” beginning with the next quarter despite the “muted” growth that occurred during the second quarter. This is because the macroeconomic outlook is improving.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the financial company Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Apple stock with a buy recommendation.
Featured Image: Pixabay @ duchu
