.png){kind=logo}
Apple had reached an impressive milestone in 2024, crossing 1 billion subscriptions across its wide range of services, including iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV+, and more. This milestone has helped the company achieve nearly $100 billion in services revenue for the year. Apple Arcade and Fitness+ have been game changers in expanding services, fueling this impressive growth.
During an earnings call, CEO Tim Cook celebrated the company's growth, mentioning that both paid accounts and subscriptions saw double-digit increases. Even though iPhone sales have faced challenges, the performance of Apple's services division has more than made up for it, highlighting a strong shift in the company's business model.
Within its services segment, Apple's business reported a $26.3 billion revenue within the fourth quarter, which translated to a 14% rise from the prior year. All these figures underscore the increasing number of people flocking to subscribe to Apple products such as App Store, iCloud, and a growing library of games on Apple Arcade, together with new workout content on Fitness+. In related news, the Tap to Pay for iPhone enables small businesses to take payments directly on their devices, and that has now expanded to 20 markets.
Despite the very strong growth in services, there were questions on the earnings call about potential impacts of regulatory changes on Apple's operations. Investors were concerned about the new regulatory environment and how it might influence Apple's ability to maintain such remarkable growth. Apple's CFO, Kevan Parekh, decided to focus on the positive trends and said that customer engagement continues to rise across all services and markets.
It is not the first time that Apple has been shrouded in antitrust controversies, especially the App Store dominance issue. Although there have been mixed outcomes from various cases, like the U.S. Supreme Court ruling for Epic Games, Apple can never be outdone when it comes to dominating the tech industry.
Even as the battle in courts continues, Apple has managed to retain its lead in the digital services space by embracing new challenges while continuing to push services revenue at unprecedented levels. Innovation and an expansion of the services offering continue to play a critical role in the company's success.
