Apple has released results for its fourth fiscal quarter and full fiscal 2021. Revenue for the fiscal quarter ended September 25 was $ 83.4 billion, compared with $ 64.7 billion in the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year, worse than the $ 85.1 billion consensus. The indicator grew by 29% year-on-year, to a record value for this period, but for the first time since 2018, the indicator fell short of market expectations. Sales of iPhone and wearable devices were also worse than analysts’ forecasts. Apple’s net income last quarter increased to $ 20.6 billion, or $ 1.24 per share, from $ 12.7 billion, or $ 0.73 per share a year earlier, in line with market expectations. We maintain a positive attitude towards Apple’s business, as well as maintain a fair value for the company’s stock at $ 180.
TIKR:
AAPL
PRICE:
$150
TARGET PRICE:
$180
UPSIDE
20%
The company’s management is forecasting weaker-than-expected numbers for the holiday season, attributing this to supply chain disruptions and Apple’s privacy changes. A software update released by Apple gives users more control over what data about their online activity can be received by companies, which is hitting advertisers. Users who have installed the latest iOS update on their iPhone are now able to block the tracking of their Internet activity for advertising purposes. Snap predicts that the company’s revenue will be $ 1.165-1.205 billion in the current quarter. The consensus forecast for this indicator is $ 1.36 billion.
We have revised our estimate of Q4 revenue downwards and reduced our valuation of the company’s shares from $ 96 to $ 75. We continue to maintain a positive outlook on the company’s business and forecast that Snapchat’s daily active user base will grow by an average of 7% per year from 2021 to 2026, driving revenue growth and higher margins over time. We also expect the company to continue to demonstrate strong growth in ad revenue, including from industries recovering from the pandemic.
Snapchat is a mobile-only platform somewhere in between a social network and messaging service that has evolved since its debut in 2011. SNAP launched as a one to one ephemeral messaging service that allowed users to take and send disappearing photos, videos, etc. and has since expanded its offering along with its use cases to include (i) one to many sharing via Stories, (ii) content consumption via its Discover platform, in which partners such as ESPN and Cosmo create premium content for the platform, (iii) chat functionality including video and audio calls and group chat, and (iv) creative tools such as lenses and Geo filters, just to name a few.