Apple's earnings report shows its new TV and credit card services can't come soon enough


Apple is really, really counting on its Apple TV+ and credit card services to pull out a win.
The company reported a 13 percent profit drop and a miniscule 1 percent revenue growth in its third quarter earnings call on Tuesday. That's a $10.08 billion reduction in profit from a year earlier, but also an improvement from the past two quarters of revenue losses — with Apple's services division to thank.
Despite the dismal earnings, Q3 did mark an "all-time record revenue from services," Apple's Tuesday release touted. Given that iPhone sales have continually declined, Apple has made it clear it believes services are the future of its company. It announced the launch of its Apple TV+ streaming service back in March, and on Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed the company's credit card service would start rolling out next month.
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Beyond services, Apple also saw sales grow for its iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. In fact, everything except the iPhone, which had a 12 percent sales drop, saw its sales grow in Q3 — albeit tepidly. Growth in China, Apple's fifth biggest market worldwide, also slowed by 4.1 percent, but Apple staved off the dramatic drops it had seen in previous quarters.
Regardless of the downsides, Apple stocks hopped up 3.4 percent in after-hours trading to $215.84 per share. Before the earnings call, Apple stocks were down .4 percent for the day.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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