Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed within an internal memo to employees that Apple saw record breaking Christmas Day iPhone activations in the United States and Canada, inviting employees to an all-hands meeting at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time at Apple’s Town Hall auditorium on its Infinite Loop campus today to discuss its lowered guidance for the first fiscal quarter of 2019.
The meeting today will give Apple employees the chance to ask questions regarding the lower than anticipated expected revenue and gross margins for Q1 2019, plus Apple’s difficulty in selling “fewer iPhone upgrades”, something Cook yesterday blamed on economic weakness, production constants, US dollar strength-related price increases and even customers taking advantage of significantly reduced pricing for iPhone battery replacements.
Within the memo, Cook said while Apple was disappointed to be falling short of its quarterly revenue goal, the fiscal first quarter is a record setter for revenue from Services, Wearables and the Mac and that iPad revenue grew double-digits over the year-ago quarter.
The full memo, shared by Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, can be found below…
Team,
Happy New Year — I hope everyone was able to rest and enjoy time with loved ones over the holidays.
This afternoon we issued a letter to Apple investors explaining that we are revising our financial guidance for the holiday quarter. I encourage you to read it. As you will see, our revenue shortfall in Q1 is from iPhone, primarily in Greater China.
While we are disappointed to be falling short of our quarterly revenue goal, our fiscal first quarter was also a record setter for revenue from Services, Wearables and the Mac. iPad revenue grew double-digits over the year-ago quarter, and iPhone activations in the U.S. and Canada set new Christmas Day records. We expect to set all-time revenue records in key markets including the US, Canada and Mexico, Western European countries including Germany and Italy, and countries across the Asia-Pacific region like Korea and Vietnam. Our worldwide installed base of active devices also hit a new all-time high, reflecting the loyalty of our customers and their appreciation for the work you do.
We are tremendously proud of the innovations we’re delivering to our customers with iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. These are, without a doubt, the best iPhones we’ve ever made. We did not set a new record for iPhone sales in Q1, however, due to a number of factors — some macroeconomic, and some specific to Apple and the smartphone industry.
External forces may push us around a bit, but we are not going to use them as an excuse. Nor will we just wait around until they get better. This moment gives us an opportunity to learn and to take action, to focus on our strengths and on Apple’s mission — delivering the best products on earth for our customers and providing them with an unmatched level of service. We manage Apple for the long term, and in challenging times we have always come out stronger.
With that in mind, please join me for an all-hands meeting on Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. PT. Be sure to check AppleWeb for more details. Due to construction at Apple Park, we’ll be gathering at Town Hall on the Infinite Loop campus. Join us there in person, or via live stream through AppleWeb. I’ll have more details about the quarter, and I’m looking forward to your thoughts and questions.
Hope to see you there.
Tim